Twisted Fate
by Aelithi
Summary: Nariel had everything because she had Sath'rovok. As long as she had him she knew that she could be happy. She went to sleep every night content that he would always be hers. Until one day...he wasn't.
1. Prologue

**Twisted Fate  
**_Prologue_

"Hey, wait up!"

The sound of that voice was music to Nariel' ears.

"Come on slowpoke, or we'll be caught!" she whispered.

It wasn't fitting for a rogue to be seen after all. She turned around to glance at her struggling Paladin companion. He was attempting to join her on top of the roof of the Bazaar in Silvermoon city, but the crates that she so nimbly scaled might as well have been a druid's entangling roots for all the good they did him. In truth, it wasn't the punishment of getting caught that she was worried about. Sure, the Bazaar was a relatively well guarded place, and it would be tough to come up with an explanation as to why they were sneaking around on the roof, but it was also late in the evening, and the merchants had long since packed up meaning the patrols were less frequent or vigilant. What Nariel really didn't want to lose was the moment. A loud thud alerted her to the Paladin's success, and she leaned over the edge, extending her hand to help him up.

"Finally…it's no wonder you didn't become a rogue Sath". She said with a smirk as her friend scrambled unceremoniously over the edge and onto the roof before rising with a rather disheveled look.

"Please, I look terrible in leather anyways." He said as he brushed off his tabard. "You on the other hand…" he noted with a grin as his eyes scanned up and down the red haired rogue.

She loved seeing her childhood friend like this, when his blonde hair was a perfect mess and he was enthralled with her. They had been together for years – as long as either of them could remember in fact – and nothing in all that time had ever driven her so wild as to see him lost with desire for her, and to be able to play with him like clay in her hand. With a smirk of her own, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her face so close to his that she could feel the heat of his breath as it grew more ragged.

"Patience…" she teased, letting a grin spread across her lips.

"We have all night after all." She said quietly, allowing her lips to come tantalizingly close to his before twisting away, letting her fingers run down his arm to his hand before pulling him over to the edge of the roof again.

"I didn't choose this spot just for its privacy." She added, motioning above them.

She heard a slight gasp as Sath'rovok let his gaze follow her hand upwards. The night sky was littered with stars that shone brightly, like tiny pin pricks in an otherwise solid sheet of darkness, but what caught their gaze was not the sky – they could see that anywhere. What was truly breathtaking were the soft pulsating streams of arcane energy that moved across Silvermoon like the waves of a quiet ocean, coalescing around each building and growing clearer and a deeper purple around the centers of magic that dotted the wondrous elven city.

Strings of glowing light twisted around each other, mixing colors between red, violet, and white before turning off into different directions to mix with other colors. In the day or from the ground it would have been nearly invisible – the sea of energy as a whole was translucent enough that you would not notice it for the brightness of the sun or the darkness of the night sky, but here at this spot they could see it as clearly as if it were written on the pages of a book. Nariel smiled to herself at the sight, Sath'rovok temporarily forgotten.

She was an able rogue, but most of her sneaking around was done here in Silvermoon. Those who offered the kind of work a rogue was good at were not so trusting of anyone unproven, so her time was spent around the city, eavesdropping on a conversation here, delivering messages there. It wasn't quite the level of danger and excitement she had envisioned when she decided to become a rogue, but it did have a few perks, one of which happened to be a complete mental map of some of the most secluded spots around.

That knowledge served her well, more often without Sath'rovok than with him these days as he was frequently away on assignment for the Blood Knights, but most nights she was content to slip softly up to the roof of a tall building and sit quietly in one of her many hiding spots around Silvermoon, watching the streams move. On some occasions she even tried to piece together stories from them; two streams might inspire in her a story of friendship and exploration as they drifted across the city, and then finally conflict as they shot apart and went their separate ways. It was an odd thing to do she knew, but she was an odd elf.

On this particular night however she was here with her friend and lover, Sath'rovok. She had forgotten that fact briefly, lost in the stories of the arcane energy until a large hand wrapped itself around her waist and she felt a familiar heat from his breath on her neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, allowing him to rest his chin on her shoulder.

"How did you find this place?" he asked quietly, his tone one of amazement.

"I don't really remember, it was so long ago." She replied, her breath hitching as he began to move his other hand down her body.

"Whatever I had been doing brought me to this spot at this time of night, and that's when I saw all this for the very first time." She continued, finding it harder to speak each word as his hand trailed down her side. Sath'rovok suddenly pulled his hand away, turning her around to face him and smiling at her.

"It's wonderful, but I think the best part of the view is right here." He said, gazing down at her.

"Is that so?" she asked in reply, her voice growing sultry.

"Mhm" He mumbled before leaning in to kiss her.

She grinned slightly, returning his affection before whispering "We haven't even gotten to the fun part yet" as her own fingers found his body, tracing over the unarmored areas of skin that peeked through around his neck.

"Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, a grin forming on his lips.

She moved her hands up, lacing her fingers together behind his neck before bringing her mouth up to his ear.

"You think I'll give in so easily?" She teased, her voice only a whisper.

His fingers moved around to her back, finding the strings holding her leather in place.

"I think in time I can convince you to." He replied smoothly.

"No hurry." She whispered, kissing his cheek just in front of his ear.

"Like I said…" she paused "…we have all night."

As her armor fell away piece by piece his hands began to find more and more of her skin. With each touch she felt more of the teasing resistance she had put up melt away like ice in a fire, and as the night drew on the pair slowly disappeared from reality, thoroughly enjoying the moment she was so glad they had not lost.


	2. Fairbreeze Village

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 1_

It had been three weeks since the night atop the Bazaar and Nariel still smiled every time she thought of it. It hadn't been the first time that she went off at night with Sath'rovok, nor had it been the first time they made love. In truth, nothing unusual had really happened that night except that she had felt everything so much more. His words had struck a deeper tone, his kisses had seemed more passionate, and he had just seemed so much more in love with her that night. It had made everything exceptionally special. It had saddened her when the next day he was called away on assignment. She didn't even know where – "I'm sorry my love, I don't even know until I get to the barracks" he had said. "All I know is that it will be about a month and a half".

_Over a month to go before I see his face or hear his voice again._ She thought sadly. Still, she had been having some luck finding her own work, which kept her occupied. At first it had been more of the same. Lots of eavesdropping, a little theft here and there. Never anything exciting. But then, she had finally gotten the first assignment to lead her outside of the city. It was a discreet transaction between the elf who had hired her - who she strongly suspected to be a warlock - and a Forsaken in Tranquillen, south of Quel'thalas. It still hadn't been overly dangerous – the most unexpected thing to happen the whole time was when she knocked over a crate of the Forsaken's wares by accident only to find a severed head staring back at her. Still it was a first step. She had moved up from being stuck in the city and she had been content with that at the time. That had been at the end of the first week without Sath'rovok.

Her patience had been tested by the end of the second week, after three more jobs. Only one had led her away from Silvermoon – this time to a scout patrolling the road, barely outside the walls – and all of them were message deliveries. So when she met up with the figure who placed her in all of the jobs she had managed to find at the end of the third week, only to find out that her new assignment was _yet another_ message delivery, she had snapped.

"I am not a damn delivery girl!" she had yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration.

The slender elf had glanced at her casually before giving her a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You are for now." He said, turning back to his work.

"The hell I am!" She shouted, throwing the envelope back towards him. "I'm better than this!" she yelled. "I want something better.

He had watched it bounce off his shoulder and fall to the ground, his face turning to a scowl before picking it up carefully and turning to her.

"You will take what _scraps_ I decide to throw you and be grateful for them, or I will see to it that your future work will make being a…_delivery girl…_look like a queen." He had said slowly, his eyes narrowing towards her, adding "Think carefully before you speak again."

Nariel had wanted to scream, to rip the elf's infuriating head off. But she had said nothing, instead scowling at him before slowly reaching up to take the envelope from his outstretched hand.

"Good girl." He said, a taunting smirk spread across his mouth as she turned and stormed out.

_Fairbreeze Village. _She fumed. _Not only am I still delivering people's mail, but I'm not even going as far to do it!_ She thought bitterly. It made her want to scream. She mulled over her current situation as she walked along the road. _Why am I even bothering with this?_ She grumbled to herself. _If I wanted to do odd jobs, I'd just open up a damn shop._ It wasn't that she wanted to be an assassin or anything after all – _that _kind of rogue work was a bit deeper than she wanted to go – but she didn't feel like it was asking too much to be put to proper use as a spy in an Alliance city or scouting some of the more untamed areas of the world. She wanted to go out and explore. She wanted adventures. She wanted to look back on these years later on in life and have stories to tell, not sadly recall the missed opportunities.

She sighed as she walked along, kicking a rock until it skittered off the edge of the path into the grass. The journey from Silvermoon to Fairbreeze Village was just under a day and a half by mount, but she had none and by foot it was nearly twice as long, so when she saw the village come into sight over the top of a hill she gave a relieved sigh and felt her steps quicken just a little. She walked into the town and stepped over to a fence at the side of the road, resting against it while she dug through her pack for the letter. It was addressed to the innkeeper under a name she didn't recognize, but she was familiar enough with the village to spot the inn – the largest building – right away. She stepped inside and approached the bar, where a tall blonde elf was reading over a lengthy scroll.

"Excuse me" she said to the woman, who peered up from the scroll.

"Yes?" replied the innkeeper, seeming somewhat annoyed at the disturbance.

"I'm looking for Marniel Amberlight." Nariel said, placing the letter on the counter.

"Oh! That's me." Said the woman, suddenly interested.

"For you." Nariel replied simply, waving at the note. "Will you be sending a reply?" she continued as the woman scanned the message.

"No, it's not necessary" the innkeeper said before turning back to her scroll without as much as an acknowledgement.

_Such excitement._ Nariel grumbled to herself, turning from the bar. _Surely one day they will sing songs of my adventures._ She sighed sadly at the thought. _Or maybe at least for my patience in dealing with ungrateful innkeepers._ She mused.

She glanced around the inn at the various people seated at the tables and booths. Her eyes immediately caught a pair of elves in the corner, a male and a female. He was seated with his back to the wall and she was in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck and her long black hair reaching down almost to where his arm was looped around her back. They were locked in a passionate kiss, as oblivious to the rest of the world as it was to them. A quiet laugh broke out as their kiss finished and Nariel heard a muffled sound before another giggle.

_At least Sath and I go somewhere private._ She thought to herself.

Her mind drifted back to her lover for a moment, and her eyes shifted to the man who had leaned forward into the light a little bit more. His hair was the same shade of blonde, and he would be roughly the same height. In fact his eyes were the same pale shade of green as well.

Nariel felt her amused smirk fade slightly.

_His face has the same shape._ She thought, taking a step towards the pair.

_His voice has the same tone…_ She took another step.

It was then that the pair stood up and stepped fully out of the shadow of their dark corner of the room and into the light. In that moment, Nariel felt her heart stop.

_No. _

_He shouldn't be here_. She thought, trying to reason away the sight before her as her thoughts derailed into a tangle of questions.

_He can't be here…but…_

"S-Sath?" she whispered uncertainly.

At the sound of her voice, he froze. His body language spoke volumes to her. The way his shoulders tightened, the way he stopped mid-step, even the surprised gasp she heard. It told her everything she needed to know, confirming her worst fear even before she saw him turn to her. If any uncertainty remained, the look that spread over his face as he realized who had called his name dispelled it with ruthlessly quick finality.

It was Sath'rovok. Her friend since childhood. Her lover for almost as long. They had been a perfect pair, inseparable. And there he stood, with a giggling black haired female hanging onto his arm.

"No." Nariel said, shutting her eyes to deny herself what they were showing to her.

"Nari…" Sath'rovok said.

"NO!" She shouted, scrambling for a way to shut off her hearing as well.

_This isn't happening. _She thought as she backed away. _He's not here._ She tried to convince herself. _This is just a bad dream._ But the moment she opened her eyes again her heart shattered, unable to deny reality any longer.

"This…is where you've been?" she whispered quietly.

"This was your assignment?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

Sath'rovok said nothing in reply, but looked away.

"I can't believe…" Nariel said quietly, her voice trailing off.

Without another word she turned and stumbled towards the door. As she stepped out into the daylight she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Nari wait -" Sath'rovok started.

In a flash she turned on him, a dagger at his throat.

"Don't" she said, her voice wavering as she spoke the only word she could manage.

His look of fear gave her no more satisfaction than the terrified scream of the female elf. As she stood there, anger began to grow inside of her. Finally her voice found a way to speak the confusion and pain that tore at her heart.

"How could you Sath?" Nariel whispered. "This is why you've been so much more passionate isn't it?" she asked, her voice rising. "You weren't even thinking about me." she said, stating rather than asking it.

Her hand trembled as the shock waves rippled over her, and she pressed the blade a tiny bit deeper into his neck as the rage welled up. A droplet of blood broke the skin and trickled down the edge of the dagger. Her own eyes finally cracked, tears beginning to slip down her face.

"How long have you been lying to me?" she lashed out. "I trusted you with everything!" she screamed at him. "How could you do this?"

Her questions slipped out quickly. Even if he had not been paralyzed with fear, he would not have had a chance to answer them. Nothing he might have said could have eased her pain anyways.

She inched forward, glaring into his eyes as he tried to lean away from the dagger. Slowly they grew closer. Like so many times before she could feel his breath, but this time it brought her no comfort. She searched his eyes looking for any sign of remorse. For any sign of regret at his loss or a desperate wish that he could undo what he had done, but there was only fear. Fear for his own safety. Perhaps for that of his _new_ lover, but for Nariel there was nothing.

No regret.

No apologetic sorrow.

Just…nothing.

Finally she stopped, pulling her dagger down and backing away. He watched her move carefully, unsure whether to expect her to speak or end his life, but she said nothing. He would never hear her voice again; if nothing else she was determined to claim this small victory. Turning to where his charger was tied to a fence nearby she moved over and with a single slice, cut the rope and jumped atop the horse before he could object.

She looked at him one final time and saw her life in pieces. She was nobody. _A delivery girl_. She was barely a rogue to begin with, and now she had failed to hold on to the only part of her life that had ever been worth something.

_Sath'rovok._

He had been hers forever. How long had he wanted to get away from her? She loved him and she hated him. Her mind went blank. She wanted to be away from here; away from _him._ Now. She didn't care where. She jerked the reins of the horse to the side and set out as fast as the creature could go. The inn, and the hated love of her life grew smaller and smaller behind her until they disappeared, and when they were finally no more than a speck in the distance she let the tears fall freely, uncontrollably.

_What did I do to push him away?_ She thought.

She rode for as long as the horse could run. By the time it stopped, she didn't know where she was or even what direction she had ended up in, and neither did she care. All she knew was the pain of her heart shredding itself over and over again, each question a knife tearing into it while a lifetime of love unraveled in a single act of betrayal. Finally she dismounted, stumbling to a nearby tree and falling to her knees before curling up beneath it. As the stillness of the night descended upon the world, her mind was caught in the maelstrom of confusion and agony. Her final thought before drifting off to merciful unconsciousness was the one thing she feared she may never know:

_Sath'rovok…why?_


	3. Just a Rogue

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 2_

Given the choice, Nariel would have happily stayed unconscious forever, but the world was not so kind. She awoke to pangs of hunger that had eventually overpowered the sickness she had felt after Sath'rovok's betrayal. Standing patiently where she had left it the night before was the Paladin's charger, ever loyal to its rider. She made her way over to search the bags attached to the mount and found a small pack of rations and a sack of gold coins which she took before sending the horse off into the forest. She needed a mount, it was true, but not that mount.

Not _his_ mount.

Quietly she ate, trying to take her time with the act. When her hunger disappeared, she knew the pain would return. There was so much she didn't understand - she might never understand. A day earlier she had been happy. She had missed the love of her life but she still _had_ the love of her life.

_Except I didn't_. She thought.

_He was gone a long time ago. I just didn't realize it until yesterday._ She told herself bitterly.

Where had it gone wrong? If only she had known…

The thought that it might have been avoidable if she had only known he was unhappy was almost as painful as the realization had been the day before when she saw his face. She should have known. He was hers. She should have known everything about him.

_Why hadn't she noticed?_ The question tore at her.

Question after question bombarded her as she sat under the tree, and the only answer she could give to each one was the sameover and over again.

_I don't know._

Minutes turned into hours as the day went on. She sat there trying to make sense of it, trying to find a single thread of her sanity to cling to, searching for any escape from the prison she felt being built around her mind.

It finally came to her in the familiar form of her rumbling stomach and before long she had repeated the ritual of the morning with the last of her food, dragging out her sad meal to delay the inevitable return of sorrow. For the first time as she ate, she let her mind drift from the Paladin to herself and her current situation. She had no idea where she was, or which direction to go to get home. As she sat scanning the trees, a thought struck her.

_Why would I want to go back to Silvermoon anyways?_ She asked herself.

_So I can be reminded of Sath every time I pass the Blood Knight barracks, or worse, actually see him? _

_So I can continue to play the delivery girl?_

There was nothing for her there she realized. There never had been. She had clung to the false hope, and _scraps_ desperately because the happiness she had felt with Sath'rovok had deluded her into thinking that everything else would somehow end up in her favor as well. In the absence of the one good thing she truly had, the veil fell away from the rest of her world and revealed it for what it truly was – emptiness. Maybe she could escape. Maybe she could put it all behind her. In time, maybe she could even forget about Sa- _about him_. She scanned the trees slowly, finding that the sun was just beginning to set. She had been sitting for the whole day, alone and distraught.

_He did this to me._ She thought. _He took everything from me._

It hurt more than any physical pain she had ever felt. And worse, she knew it would hurt for a long time. Maybe it would start to fade but she knew she would miss him every night when she laid down alone. She knew that as hard as she tried her mind would still wander back to him frequently, curious as to his whereabouts or what he was doing at that moment - and she hated it.

She rose and peered up at the sky, deciphering the direction she had traveled from the fading sun. She had gone south – far south apparently, judging by the lack of any sort of settlements nearby, but she was still in Eversong. She looked to the north, towards Silvermoon and felt nothing. Nothing to cling to. No one to miss her. Nothing to replace what she had lost. Slowly, she turned south, to the Ghostlands. She felt something. It was foreign; hope perhaps? Certainly she felt unsure but somehow knew her choice had been made.

_So be it._ She thought as she set off.

With each step farther from the city, she mentally purged away more of her old life. Memories of her childhood were erased. Images of the wondrous arcane streams were shut out. Thoughts of returning to Silvermoon were banished from her mind. Bit by bit she began to unravel the tangled web that had comprised her life up until then, cutting away what memories and thoughts she knew she could and relegating the rest to a part of her mind she vowed never to open. Finally, as the night fully set in, she at last cleared away the shattered rubble of her emotions, ever so carefully collected what little remained of her precious broken heart, and sealed it away, determined to forevermore keep it locked away from the reach of those who she might be foolish enough to trust.

Her final act before she began her journey in earnest – wherever it may lead her – was to reach into her bag and pull out the only piece of gear she never wore. It was a small leather mask which encased her jaw in leather up to the tip of her nose. It served her purpose well, ensuring that no one would recognize her with it on. As Nariel fastened it around her face, she couldn't help but relish the security that she felt with it on and the thought that her old life – and Sath'rovok with it – was hidden away safely behind it. Perhaps there were parts of it that she could never forget. Only time would reveal to her what they were, but to the rest of the world she was now only a rogue, and she would do everything in her power to keep it that way, for she was determined never again to suffer at the hands of another.


	4. The Elf and the Orc

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 3_

The Barrens was an interesting place. It could be harsh, but it was also beautiful for its untamed grasslands and the beasts that wandered them. It was here in this rugged wild that Nariel found herself, over five years since setting out from Silvermoon. Life had been eventful for her since then. She had learned much about being a rogue that could not be taught running errands in the well-manicured and protected city. She had mastered combat with her daggers and nearly with her swords as well. The shadows welcomed her, draping their protective shroud around her at her will, and shielding her from searching eyes. It hadn't all come without a price of course - down the side of her shoulder ran a long thin scar, the remnant of a nearly fatal lesson about choosing her battles wisely. Life was unpredictable – she never knew where she might end up until her travels carried her there, but it was also still lonely – which was exactly how she wanted it.

It was for her skills that she had been hired, and had come to the Barrens. A small dwarven outpost in the south was usually ignored by the Horde except for any time they ventured too far out of their hold, but in recent months they had grown more active. The dwarves had refortified and begun patrolling around a bit farther out, and the overwhelming consensus at nearby Camp Taurajo was that it spelled trouble ahead for the small village. Nariel had been asked to investigate for the camp to help settle some of the uneasiness.

Nighttime fell upon the world and with it, Nariel slipped from the small rocky outcrop where she had been observing down to the ground. As she began to make her way towards the dwarven keep she scanned the surrounding area. There were indeed an unusually large number of patrols it seemed. She could hardly take a step before another guard would pass by and she would be forced to slip back into the shadows. When she did make it to the keep entrance however, a loud snore alerted her to the fact that entry here would be significantly easier than she expected, and she confirmed this with a glance at the sleeping guard. Once inside she clung to the corners and shadows until she reached a large opening, where it took only a few silent leaps up a nearby group of stacked crates to reach the rafters, providing her not only with a perfect bird's eye view of the inner workings of the fortress, but a way to traverse between rooms unseen as well.

She slipped silently along one of the beams until she came to a room where a few dwarves were gathered. Creeping towards the corner of the room where they sat, clearly intoxicated, she began to listen in on their conversation.

"I'm tellin' yeh, it's a break!" Said the first dwarf, rather loudly.

"Tha hell it is! I want a bloody reroll!" Argued a second.

"None o' that laddy, I won it fair and square!" Cried the first dwarf.

"Rerolls' are part o' the game now!" The second dwarf shouted as he banged his fist on the table.

"DRINK!" Cried a third dwarf, to which all three grabbed the nearest mug and downed it in a single gulp.

Nariel shook her head and turned to pick another room. Just as she took her first step, something caught her ear.

"Now lis'n here you!" Said the first dwarf, pointing an unsteady finger at the second. "This game's over and I'll be takin' me winnings or we'll settle it with th' cap'n."

At this the third dwarf perked up. "Like hell ya will! We all know he's busy with th' little gnome that's been wanderin around here for the last two months."

The second dwarf tossed his empty mug aside and turned to the third. "Wha's he doin anyways?" he asked.

"Somethin r' other ta do with the quillboar." The third replied. "I dunno, but the capt'n wants to get em cleared out'o Razorfen Kraul. Thinksh we can expand the fort. Tha' little gnome's supposed ta know how."

Nariel smirked. The Tauren would be relieved. Not only were they not the target, but they would be getting some unexpected help against a mutual enemy. Nariel turned and made her way across the rafters towards another room just as a loud crash signaled one of the dwarves tipping over his chair backwards. _How they expect to fight drunk if the Horde ever does decide they need to go is beyond me._ She thought.

She slid along the rafters silently until she came to a room with a large armored dwarf standing near a rather tiny creature she assumed was the gnome in question.

"- and by that point we'll be ready to move on to the final stage, deploy the siege machines, and clear out the quillboar for good." Said the gnome.

"Aye, what of them then? Will this machine o' yours clean 'em all up or will we have prisoners to deal with?" asked the captain.

"Well I suppose that's up to you." Replied the gnome. "Technically the machine could kill them all…We could just run them over, it's not like they can escape the tunnels." He continued "but I'm not building machines for mass murder. It won't be equipped with any special weapons or anything past its intended use – which is breaking down barriers." He said.

"Aye that's fine lad. There won't be any o'that goin' on. We'll relocate them if we can." Replied the captain.

"Excellent." Said the gnome. "One final thing. The commander wants the machine back when you're done" He continued. "In the –ahem- unfortunate event that the keep were to fall into the hands of the Horde, he doesn't want to lose the machine as well." He said.

"Fine, fine." The captain replied with a wave. "Anything else we need ta know?" he asked.

The gnome shook his head. "Not that I can think of. If there is you'll find out very quickly after you start. Might not find out what exactly, but you'll know that you don't know something!" he said with a chuckle, much to the annoyance of the dwarven captain.

Nariel had heard all that she needed to. She slipped back through the rafters, down to the floor, and out into the night with ease. At a safe distance away from the keep she gave a soft whistle and waited patiently until her gray riding wolf emerged from the bushes where she had left him. With the knowledge that there was no impending danger, she made her way leisurely back to Camp Taurajo, letting her mind drift and watching the night sky. As the came upon the village, she dismounted and tied her wolf to a post before entering the large tent that housed the elder of Camp Taurajo. Immediately, the large aging Tauren rose and spoke to her.

"You have returned!" he said excitedly. "What news then? Must we evacuate the village?" He asked.

"No elder. You can be at ease." She replied to a collection of relieved sighs around the tent. "The dwarves are gathering strength and preparing for an assault, but their attack is aimed south at the Quillboar of Razorfen Kraul." She stated.

"Then we are safe for now it seems." The elder said, adding with a relieved sigh. "Thank you rogue."

Nariel said nothing but nodded respectfully to the elder Tauren before turning and slipping out of the tent. She made her way to the inn where she would sleep for the night – for free, thanks to the gratitude of the village. Entering the room, she sat down on the edge of the bed. This was the part of the day that she hated the most – and every night was the same. She slipped her hand up behind her ear, unfastening the buckle on her mask. As it slipped off, she felt her protective shield instantly replaced by uncertainty and fear, and her memories immediately started fighting to escape where she had locked them away so long ago. Quietly she laid back, squeezing her eyes shut and praying that sleep would come quickly.

But she knew it would not.

In the morning she rose early, before the sun was out. She dressed quickly and slipped outside to her wolf. Silently she filled a small canteen with water before mounting the creature and setting off North. Her destination was the Crossroads, which would take her nearly the whole day to arrive at. The small town served as the intersection of a number of roads that could take her in wildly different directions depending on what she felt like. She hadn't yet decided if she would go north to Ashenvale - though she doubted it, she never liked Night Elves -, west to the Stonetalon Mountains, or east to Ratchet and then on to the Eastern Kingdoms. She would camp there for the night while she decided where her travels would lead her next.

She was nearly halfway through her journey when out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a slight movement. She turned her head just in time to catch a glimpse of soft white fur as it disappeared into the grass. Intrigued, she halted her wolf and slipped off, down out of sight herself. With a few quick steps she was over near where she had seen it, and as a gust of wind blew the grass, it parted and she saw a beautiful white tiger crouched a mere few yards ahead of her. The object of its attention was a raptor that had come stalking into the area, no doubt looking for an easy kill itself. Nariel watched the tiger work, masterfully hunting the beast. With each small gust of wind, the cat shifted around to prevent its scent from wafting towards its prey and giving it away. Each step brought it closer and closer until finally it was within striking distance.

Only then, far too late, did the raptor realize its imminent demise. With terrifying speed and ruthlessness the tiger pounced, and it was over instantly. The prey had barely enough time to let out a small screech before it was silenced by the jaws of the tiger clamping down upon its throat. Nariel was enthralled by a creature that was so beautiful and yet so deadly at the same time. She was surprised then when a pair of loud cheers rose up at the tiger's victory.

"Beautiful!" cried a smooth, deep voice.

"Merciless!" said another, more rough.

As Nariel watched, a chattering Orc and a Blood Elf rose up from a bush under a nearby tree and headed towards the giant cat and its raptor.

"I tell ya she's getting better and better." Said the Orc.

"Absolutely, that was a flawless kill." Replied the elf.

"The creature had no idea until her teeth were practically in its neck!" said the Orc with a laugh.

Nariel watched the pair converse, confused until she noticed the bow hanging from the Orc's back.

_Ah, a hunter._ She thought. _Which would make you…_

She turned to look at the tiger, but was shocked to see it was nowhere to be found. She scanned the area but saw only the Orc and the Elf, locked in joyous conversation. Her only warning of what happened next was a soft low growl, before a gust of wind parted the grass in front of her to leave her staring into the snarling fangs of the creature she had admired moments before, only inches from her face.

Nariel had just enough warning to dodge backwards, avoiding the creature's jaws at they snapped shut around air that only a moment before held the small elf. Fueled by a rush of adrenaline, she sidestepped again, avoiding the cat's swipe before rolling backwards in the grass and performing a vanish - a signature rogue trick that had saved her life a few times before. Immediately she turned and moved so her scent would miss the cat, mimicking its earlier trick. The creature responded to her unexpected disappearance by slinking low into the grass out of sight itself.

The sound of the commotion had caught the attention of the Orc, who was now scanning the grass for his pet. Nariel had begun to retreat back to where her wolf was waiting, content to take the draw versus her opponent when she found the very thing she was trying to avoid waiting in the grass ahead. With the startling speed it had displayed in ending the raptor, it pounced on her, this time leaving no chance for her to escape. She landed on her back, giant paws coming down to pin her hands where they fell and a large fanged mouth snarling at her. Just as the cat reared back to clamp its jaws down, a loud shout echoed across the field.

"No!" Cried the Orc and the elf at the same time.

"Frostbite! Down!" Yelled the Orc as he ran towards the pair waving franticly.

The cry came a moment too late as the jaws clamped shut, but to the surprise of both the cat and its prey they closed on thin air, repelled from the tiger's intended target as if some force pushed them away.

"Off! Get off her!" Shouted the Orc as he arrived at the scene.

Immediately upon hearing the command, the giant cat retreated, going to its master's side. Nariel lay there for a moment, perplexed but thankful to be alive before sitting up slowly. The elf knelt at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Nariel nodded in reply and the elf let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew. I was afraid I was too slow with the shield." He said.

Nariel looked up at him, somewhat confused in her reply. "What?" she asked.

"I'm a Paladin" Was all he said in reply.

"I see." She said, her voice hiding the small sting in the back of her mind that appeared as his words recalled images of the only other Paladin she had ever known. "Then I believe I owe you thanks." She added, rising to her feet.

As she did the Orc approached the pair. "I'm sorry. She's never attacked anyone like that before." He said. "At least, not without a command to."

The elf turned to look at the cat. "Yes, it's quite strange. Why would she go after you?" he asked Nariel.

"I don't know. I was riding along when I saw her stalking the raptor. I stopped to watch and had been poking around the grass for a better view." She said. "Perhaps she thought I was a threat, seeing as I was stealthed." She continued.

"Aye, that's likely." Said the Orc. "Though it's a wonder she didn't spot you before she took down the raptor." He said. "It wasn't until after that she picked you up." He finished.

The elf turned to Nariel. "It's quite impressive you managed to get away from her, even for a moment." He said.

"She's never lost her prey before." Said the Orc.

Nariel forced a small smile at the compliment. "Well, I for one am happy to be the first." She said.

The pair before her each gave an amused laugh before the Elf turned to Nariel.

"I am Solarius, by the way. This is my friend and traveling companion, Molikor." He said. "And I believe you have met Frostbite" he added, motioning to the cat.

She gave a curt nod. "And I am Nariel. Well met." She said.

"Aye" replied Molikor.

"Where were you headed before this Nariel?" asked Solarius.

"To the Crossroads" Nariel replied.

"Wonderful! So were we. We just stopped for a little sport. Perhaps we can finish the journey together?" he asked as Molikor nodded his agreement.

Nariel hesitated momentarily, glancing at the pair and their cat that had tried to kill her moments earlier. The two were friendly and outgoing - admirable qualities to most - but she was content with her solitude. Still, it was hard _not_ to travel together if they were heading the same direction. They could take different sides of the road she supposed, but…

"Very well then." She said, suppressing a sigh. "I just need to collect my mount." She added as she turned back to the road, giving a sharp whistle.

A few minutes later the trio were on the road again, Frostbite padding along behind them playfully chasing any stray bugs that came too low.

"So Nariel, what brings you to The Barrens?" Molikor asked.

"Nothing in particular." She replied before quickly adding "It's just where I ended up.", trying to head off any further questioning.

"Aye, it must be nice to seek the journey rather than the destination." Molikor said. "We're here from Stranglethorn." He added. "Solarius over there" Molikor nodded towards the Paladin as he spoke "needed to get away from all the trolls-" He said

"- so he seems to think -" added the Paladin

"-and I myself can never turn down a reason to hunt. There's nowhere better to hunt exotic creatures than the Barrens, so here we are" Molikor said with a laugh.

"It's mostly true." Said Solarius "except the part about me. I'm perfectly happy with trolls." He said.

"Aye, he's a little too happy about them sometimes." Molikor said with a grin. "Especially the females. That's why he had to get away."

"Now he's just making things up." Said an increasingly flustered Solarius.

"Let's go ask Ton'ka if I'm making it up then eh?" teased the Orc.

"I for one don't understand what the fascination is about with this place. It's just flat grasslands." Solarius said loudly, changing the subject.

"You weren't saying that when we were sitting in the bush, watching the master huntress at work." Said Molikor as he jerked his thumb towards the large cat.

"Bah." Said the Elf with a dismissive wave.

"Don't mind him." Said Molikor. "He's just mad that his ears stick up over the grass." He said. "Gives him away every time, he's a terrible hunter." He added quietly.

"Wh- My ears are perfectly normal thank you!" Cried the Paladin. "And you've just insulted our new friend as well." He added, pointing at Nariel.

"Oh no no, she's got it right." Molikor said. "Look at her ears, she can practically lay them back flat!" He added mockingly towards the Paladin. "Why, she only got away from Frostbite after all! And here you are saying she's doing it wrong. You! Of all people." Said the Orc in his best mock condescending tone.

The remainder of their journey was filled with more good natured banter between the pair, and try as she might to keep her distance, Nariel couldn't help but find herself somewhat amused. When they finally arrived at the Crossroads the sun had set, and Nariel made her way to the room she had purchased for the night. Nothing about the day had been particularly upsetting – other than almost being eaten by the giant tiger -, but as she closed the door behind herself she quietly slipped over to the bed and sat down on the edge, dread overtaking her. For all the laughter that the day had brought, she knew from the moment Solarius had spoken to her that as soon as she lost the distractions that they provided, the weight of the one tiny word he had said would set off a fresh wave of pain that even five long years had not helped her learn to cope with.

_Paladin…_


	5. Loneliness

**A/N:**

Hope everyone is enjoying the story! Please review and let me know if you like it or not.

ForGG: Thanks for your review! Don't worry, you won't have to wait long. The entire story is written, I've just not been able to edit/clean up the later chapters yet. I'm posting them as I'm able to do so.

* * *

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 4_

Nariel awoke to darkness in her room. The only source of faint light was the soft orange flicker of a torch outside of her window. She lay there for a moment trying to shake off the grogginess of an unpleasant sleep before rolling out of bed quietly and stepping over to the window to peer out. The dark sky was moonless, and the stars had begun to fade – a hint that the first morning light was almost upon the small village.

_Might as well just stay up._ She thought to herself.

It was her habit to rise before the sun each morning, so while it was a bit earlier than she wanted, it was close enough. Silently she slipped on everything but her mask – she didn't think she would need it in the dark, and it would interfere with eating - and packed up her gear before stepping out to the main part of the inn. It was deserted, save for the lone innkeeper who was just beginning his daily work, chopping meat and pulling supplies out of the cellar. The Orc looked up from his task as she approached, giving her a polite nod.

"You're an early riser I see" he said before returning to cleaning a mug.

Nariel only nodded before asking "What have you got ready?"

The Orc motioned to the table he was standing at. "Only what you see here." He replied, adding "Bread, water, and a little bit of leftover meat. If you're after something more it will be a bit longer."

Nariel shook her head. "Pack it up." She said as she placed a few coins on the counter, taking the food he gave her in return. She ate half of the bread almost instantly – _I must have been hungrier than I thought _she said to herself – and stored the rest of the food away before draining the glass of water and turning to the door.

"You're off then?" asked the innkeeper.

"Yes." Nariel replied.

"Weren't you with a couple others?" he pried.

Nariel shook her head. "Just acquaintances. I doubt they even remember my name." she said before turning and stepping out into the dark.

In truth, she did want to leave before the pair awoke. They seemed friendly, but the previous night was reminder enough why she preferred to be alone. Her wolf, accustomed to her early morning starts was already awake and waiting where she had left it in the stables the previous day. Next to it, curled up on a pile of straw, was Frostbite. At the sound of Nariel approaching the tiger lifted its head lazily to peer at the rogue. Nariel paused briefly before turned to the tiger. Reaching into her pack, she brought out the meat and tore a chunk of it away before stepping over and kneeling next to the orc's pet.

"There." She said as she placed the meat on the straw in front of Frostbite, adding with a smirk "Truce?"

The cat sniffed it briefly before downing it in a single bite, looking up to Nariel expectantly. She gave a slight laugh and shook her head.

"Sorry girl, the rest is for me." She said, reaching her hand up to scratch behind the tiger's ear.

In response, Frostbite flopped over and began to purr as if she were a normal house cat, apparently accepting the peace offering with glee.

_Who's a killer? Yes! Who's a good killer? You are!_ Nariel grinned as the absurdity of the tiger's actions ran through her mind. It was just as she rose and turned to prepare her own wolf for departure that a voice spoke behind her.

"I think she likes you." Solarius said.

Nariel froze briefly, caught off guard before turning her head to see where he had spoken from. Sure enough, the Paladin was leaning against the stone wall of the inn, an amused look on his face.

"How long have you been standing there?" Nariel asked uneasily.

"Only a moment." He replied with a wave. "Frostbite wasn't fed last night, and Molikor sleeps like a rock." He said, adding "I came out to give her something to eat, but it looks like you beat me to it"

"What are _you_ doing out here?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Leaving." She said, slightly on edge.

"Leaving?" Solarius asked with a surprise. "So early?"

"Yes" she replied.

"Where are you heading in such a rush?" he asked before adding "We were going to ask if you wanted to join us in heading back to-"

Nariel shook her head, cutting him off. "I-I can't. I'm sorry." She said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the edge in her voice.

She needed to leave soon. The conversation was quickly beginning to feel like having a spotlight pointed at her, and she felt naked without her mask on, like her entire soul was on display for him to judge.

"Are you ok?" Solarius asked seriously, the rest of his smile fading as he took a step towards her.

"Yes." She said, more firmly than she intended.

Quickly she turned away from him, reaching into her pack for the mask, pulling it out before fastening it on with a single swift movement. The small piece of leather hardly provided any true physical protection, serving instead more to conceal her identity but when she wore it she felt as if a thousand extra layers of armor had been wrapped around her body. Her eyes closed as she felt the buckle click behind her ear, and she let out a soft relieved sigh before turning back to face the Paladin.

"Nariel, I know you aren't very familiar with us yet" Said Solarius "but if you need help Molikor and I will gladly aid you."

"No. I'm fine, really." She replied. "You just caught me off guard a moment ago." She added, trying to sound convincing.

Instantly her body language had changed; it was an act she had mastered and once again was able to perform with her security returned. She was no longer stiff and guarded, but more relaxed. She had control of herself now, and tried her best to seem as if she were at ease with the whole conversation. She stepped over to where her wolf was waiting, untying it from the post and leading it out to the path. As she passed by Solarius, he said nothing but wore a grave look of concern on his face. She climbed atop the wolf and turned to the Paladin one last time.

"Thank you for your company. Please tell Molikor I'm sorry I could not wait for him this morning." She said. Still he said nothing, but nodded slowly in reply.

"Farewell Solarius." She said to the Paladin.

"Good luck to you Nariel." He replied, his voice laced with concern.

With a nudge of her heel the wolf set out, leaving the Crossroads and her two temporary companions behind. Solarius stood quietly, watching her ride away and thinking over the conversation that they had just had. Something was certainly off. He thought over it all, looking for some clue, but could think of nothing that might have caused her uneasiness. Nothing had been unusual about their conversation the previous day, and she had seemed to be enjoying herself even up until the group disbanded, heading to their respective rooms in the inn.

"Well girl." He said sadly, turning to Frostbite. "Whatever it is, it's out of our hands now. I just hope it's nothing too serious."

He scratched the top of the cat's head as he thought. The elf had worn her mask since they had met. Several times she had even deliberately avoided removing it, such as when he had offered her water after knowing she had not had any during the entire ride. She had even kept it on in the inn, while they talked away the evening hours the night before. It was clearly something she felt attached to, so it was a surprise to see her without it this morning, and he couldn't help but notice one thing in particular:

_Nariel was beautiful._


	6. Goblins

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 5_

When she had set out after her encounter with Solarius, Nariel had left the Crossroads in quite a hurry. She had no real destination in mind, only concerned with getting away from him quickly. North was Ashenvale, which was immediately disregarded -_ Night elves, blech s_he had thought to herself. South was Camp Taurajo, where she had come from. West was Stonetalon, certainly an interesting place, but the road led back through the Crossroads. That left her only viable option as East, to Ratchet. The journey had been quicker than she expected until she got there to discover from the dock master that the next transport ship would not arrive for two more days. The first day and a half had passed by with an uneventful boringness that could rival watching the grass grow. She had wandered around the small goblin town, searching the shops for something – _anything - _that could amuse her.

"Hey you!" Called a small goblin when she had entered one shop in particular. "Wanna buy some whirlycogs?" He asked, dumping a bag of small rusty gears out on the counter.

"No thanks." She replied, shaking her head.

"Aw, come on. I'll give ya a great deal on 'em – 50 silver for the bag." He prodded.

"What am I supposed to do with them?" She had asked, growing annoyed.

"Whatever ya want pal." Pressed the goblin. "I'm just here to ensure you get the finest-" he paused, making a strange face at the collection of scrap metal on the counter "-the finest tools available."

Nariel had stared at him for a long moment, unsure if he was truly an idiot or just dedicated.

"Tell you what." She had said, slightly amused by his response. "I'll think on it."

At this she turned, giving a dismissive wave over her shoulder and exiting the shop. The rest of her first day in Ratchet had been more of the same – goblins around every corner trying to sell her their old junk. At first she had found it at least entertaining to see the increasingly ridiculous trinkets that each one had – "_Fishing Pole X19-T12 complete with turbo boosted reel!"_ one had offered, holding out a fishing rod that appeared to have a stick of dynamite strapped to it - but by the end of the night she had grown thoroughly annoyed. The last poor goblin to pester her had ended up stuffed inside a nearby crate, much to the amusement of a nearby Tauren.

The second day had started the same, and she was unsure she could survive another round of pestering by the army of goblin salesmen, so by the time evening fell she had sunk to drinking – alone, of course. For all that she was hating goblins at the moment, she had to admit that the small port boasted some of the finest rum on Azeroth, and a few gold had bought her a supply to last the night. Rum in tow, she had slipped out of the city along the shoreline with her _non turbo boosted _fishing pole for an evening of relaxation under the stars.

A short distance from the town she had found a suitable spot – more than suitable in fact; the spot was perfect. It was a small cove with a secluded beach, invisible to the world unless you happened to stumble upon it as she had. The water formed a small pool, with large jagged boulders creating a natural sea wall around the opening of the inlet which gave her the soft, steady sound of the waves coming ashore nearby while also providing perfectly calm waters directly in front of her to fish in.

_Definitely a spot to keep in mind._ She thought.

She settled onto the beach, casting out her line and planting the end of the rod firmly in the sand before prying the cork out of her first bottle. As she took her first sip, she leaned back, resting against a rock and looking up to the stars, which had just begun to appear.

_It's just like Silvermoon._ She said to herself before immediately banishing all thoughts of the city from her mind. A shooting star streaked across the sky and at seeing it she grinned and closed her eyes, recalling how as a child she had been told to make a wish if she saw one.

_What should I wish for?_ She mused to herself.

_I wish…_She thought before pausing.

She turned the thought that immediately came to her mind over in her head, mentally inspecting it as she sipped from the bottle. Obviously it was ridiculous to presume that it would come true simply because she saw a shooting star. Still, more out of habit than hope, she let the wish flow from her lips softly.

"I wish I could be happy again." She whispered to herself quietly.

When a few seconds passed with no sign of her princely savior appearing she smirked to herself, shaking her head. _Ah well._ She thought, taking another swig of rum just as she got her first bite of the night from the fishing pole – a large Sagefish which she inspected before tossing into a nearby bucket.

A few drinks later she had her third, and then fourth fish. By the time she had finished half the bottle, the bucket was filling up quickly. The night went on, drink after drink until finally she leaned her head back against the rock and drifted off to sleep. There she stayed until the chirp of birds alerted her to the morning sunrise. Sitting up, she looked around for a moment, confused until the pile of empty bottles reminded her of the night prior. Turning to her side she saw the bucket. To her amusement, she found the top half of it full of seaweed, various shells, and a large boot.

_I need to get some more of that rum for the road._ She thought.

Her brief trip back to Ratchet was delayed only by a stop on the outskirts of town to sell the fish she had accumulated, which nearly paid for the rum she had bought last night. A glance at the docks confirmed that her ship had arrived as it was currently being loaded with both crates and passengers. Climbing aboard, she settled into one of the small cabins on a lower deck, flopping down on the bed to catch up on what sleep she had missed. There she stayed, and when she awoke it was a soft, telling sway that told her that the ship was moving.

The journey to Stranglethorn was nearly two weeks in total, and the first few days of the trip were just as uneventful as her time in Ratchet had been, except for a storm that pelted the decks with rain. She occupied the time by wandering around below decks and doing menial tasks that she had been putting off such as sharpening her daggers and mixing a fresh supply of poisons. Nearly halfway through the trip the rain relented and she was finally able to set foot above deck. When she did, she found the cool drizzle off before had been replaced by a burning midday sun staring down at her. She stepped up to the railing at the side of the ship, listening to the sound of sailors repairing the minor damage from the storm and watching the waves crash against the side beneath her. She scanned the horizon for land, even though she knew there would be none.

As she stood there, a soft growl sounded behind her and she turned around just in time to see, for the second time, a large ball of white fur pounce on her. This time however, Frostbite was only being her normal playful self. The huge cat rose up on her hind legs, putting her paws on Nariel's shoulders and bringing her sloppy wet tongue out to lick the elf on the side of her face.

"Wha-Hey! Stop it!" Nariel stuttered, swatting at the tiger. "Gross!" she cried. "Blech, your breath stinks." She said to the cat, recovering from the surprise.

She heard a deep rough laugh to her side and turned to see Molikor doubled over.

"You may be a damn fine rogue, but she's a better huntress." He said when he finally gained his composure.

"Molikor?!" Nariel exclaimed.

"Oh sure, just because he has a pretty tiger, he gets all the attention." Came the mocking voice of Solarius from behind the Orc.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Nariel, thoroughly confused.

"Same thing as you." Said Solarius.

"Riding a boat." Added Molikor.

"And watching the huntress at work." The Paladin said with a huge grin.

Nariel stared at the pair for a moment before a nudge at her leg alerted her to Frostbite trying to dig into the pack where the remainder of the meat was waiting.

"Wha-No!" she cried, as the tiger's jaws found what they were searching for and swallowed it whole.

Molikor grinned and nudged Solarius. "Look, she's so fond of Nariel that she's trying some thieving of her own." He said, pointing at the cat, who was now sitting and looking at Nariel as if she expected more.

The rogue gave an annoyed sigh and dismissed the remains of the torn bag, which had been totally destroyed.

"You never answered my question." She said. "Why are you two here?"

"We did answer your question." Pointed out Molikor.

"Why are you on the ship?" Nariel demanded, growing impatient.

"Like I said. For the same reason as you." Replied Solarius. "We're going to Stranglethorn."

"Are you following me?!" Nariel asked as she looked at the Paladin, her voice growing concerned. "I told you I wanted to be alone!" she said. "I thought you two were going home?"

"You never let me tell you were home was." Stated Solarius matter-of-factly, adding "As you apparently don't recall, we were in the Barrens from Stranglethorn Vale."

Nariel felt slightly guilty at his revelation. "Sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like that. It just seems you have a knack for catching me off guard." She said with a sigh.

"I just came because I didn't get to say goodbye." Said Molikor, raising his hand slightly. "Ow- Fine, fine. We were going back to Stranglethorn." He corrected as Solarius elbowed him in the side.

Nariel sighed. They were stuck on the boat for another week, and now they knew she was there. _Could be worse._ She thought as she looked from the Paladin to the Hunter. _At least they're good company._

"I'm going below decks to find food." Molikor said. "We'll meet up soon Nariel. It's good to see you again." He added.

Nariel gave him a friendly smile before turning back to the railing, looking out over the waves. To her surprise, Solarius did not follow him but rather stepped up beside her.

"I am glad to see you look much less concerned." He said.

Nariel gave no reply, but stared ahead.

"You didn't say you wanted to be left alone." The Paladin continued. "Only that you had to go. If I had known you didn't enjoy our company-" he started, but Nariel cut him off.

"Please don't think it's that, Solarius." She said simply.

"No?" he wondered out loud. "Then what is it?" he asked.

She stared ahead for a moment before saying "I'm not used to having people around."

"Perhaps a change is in order? My offer still stands you know." Solarius said. "You could join us in our travels."

"Thank you, but no." She replied firmly.

"Why not?" he prodded, turning to lean against the railing as he watched her.

"If you enjoy our company, and have nothing stopping you, why not come with us?" he asked.

"For my own reasons." She replied simply.

Solarius paused for a moment before deciding to try a more direct approach.

"What's going on?" he asked. "You seem uncomfortable about something, and I can't figure out what it is."

Nariel took a deep breath. She had nowhere to go this time. She had grown quite good at avoiding people determined to pry at her, but this was not a conversation she could escape. She was cooped up on a ship with someone determined to peel away at the object of their curiosity until they were satisfied. It was best to deal with it now. She just had to resist feeling trapped. Exhaling softly she turned to look at the Paladin.

"Why does it matter to you?" she asked. "I'm just some rogue you've only met briefly. Why do you care if I'm worried or upset?" she challenged.

"Why wouldn't it?" he replied, seeming confused. "What kind of person would I be if I just ignored the problems of those around me?" he continued, shrugging. "When I see someone upset, whether I just met them or I've known them my whole life, I want to help." He added. "It's why I became a Paladin."

Nariel squeezed her eyes shut at the word. She hated the fact that the mention of a Paladin, _any Paladin_ was instantly able to drag up such painful memories. It was a vulnerability that no armor could shield, and try as she might to hide it from the world even the most accidental encounters could strike her at her core.

"Stop it!" she said, her voice almost a yell.

Solarius stared at her, shocked.

"Please stop." She repeated quieter, trying to calm her nerves and control herself.

"Stop what?" asked Solarius, sounding defensive. "What did I do?" he asked her.

"You can't solve everyone's problems Solarius." Nariel insisted, her eyes still shut. "People are who they are for a reason." She said, adding firmly "I am alone for a reason."

"Clearly one that has deep and painful roots for you." Solarius replied, his voice suddenly kind. "But even as I can't solve everyone's problems for them, you can't solve all yours alone." He said.

"I don't know what bothers you, or why you choose loneliness over friendship" he said "and I won't promise that Molikor and I could help you with it, but we could try." He said.

Nariel said nothing for a long moment. Finally she turned to Solarius. "What if I don't want help with it?" she asked.

"If you truly believe whatever it is that troubles you is not for us to interfere with, then there is nothing we can do." He replied. "But please do not let that preclude you from considering our offer of friendship." He said, adding. "Perhaps in this instance we can help more than you think."

"I'm not your broken toy to try and repair." Nariel said, a hint of anger showing through. "I've tried for years to come to terms with my problems, and I still can't do it sometimes." She said, her voice bitter. "And you offer to just _fix_ me?"

Solarius shook his head.

"You misunderstand me Nariel." He said calmly before adding. "You are not some misguided soul to be set on the right path to us."

"As you said, you are who you are for a reason. If you are happy with that then perhaps loneliness is your paradise." He said, pausing briefly before continuing. "If not, all we wish to do is offer you a chance to change that."

He turned to her, a soft smile on his face. "Please think about it. We really do enjoy having you around, more so than most of the people we meet." He said as he walked away, leaving her to stare out over the ocean.

What bothered Nariel more than his prying, more than the times he had unknowingly delivered his painful strikes on her vulnerability was one simple thought that in light of all her promises to herself, and all her precautions against it she could not comprehend.

Nariel was actually considering his offer.


	7. A Chance Encounter

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 6_

The next few days went slowly but eventually they arrived in Stranglethorn. As Nariel stepped off the ship, a familiar voice sounded to her side.

"Hey Nariel! Wait up!" Solarius shouted, Molikor a step behind him.

"You were running off again." The Orc said, pointing a finger at her accusingly.

She shook her head with a smile. "Not just yet, only going to the inn." She said.

"Perfect, so were we." the Paladin replied quickly.

_How convenient._ She thought, though the words never materialized. The trio made their way around the docks to the small goblin tavern and settled in at a small table in the corner, where Molikor offered – insisted really – that he buy the drinks as a sort of _sorry-my-pet-tiger-almost-mauled-you-the-other-day _ apology. Nariel had argued at first but finally relented, slipping her mask off with a sigh.

"So have you changed your mind about our offer?" asked Molikor.

"No." She replied firmly, trying to sound determined.

In truth she had given it some thought. Perhaps it was that act alone that had pushed her towards declining, afraid that her defenses were failing.

"I wish you would reconsider." Said Solarius, but Nariel only shook her head as a small goblin placed three mugs of ale before them.

"What if we could change your mind?" he added.

"Solarius…" Nariel began, growing exasperated.

"Hear me out, please." He replied raising his hands in a calming gesture before adding "Molikor and I are heading to the Searing Gorge. We've been asked to poke around Blackrock Mountain."

"And?" she asked.

"Come with us." Molikor said. "One trip, from start all the way through to the end."

"If we finish and your mind is still set on going your own way, then I promise we will not argue." Solarius said.

Nariel said nothing but stared intently at her drink. All of her instincts were screaming at her to leave. Her internal alarms warning her of the impending danger to all of the protections she had managed to put in place. Still, something about the pair drew her in. She didn't know what; it was subtle, but against her better judgment she had been on the very edge of taking their offer when they had asked on the ship before her cold logic had caught up to her.

Finally she gave a defeated sigh before asking "If I agree, will you stop following me?"

"I suppose, if we must." Said Molikor with a smirk.

Nariel felt her stomach lurch slightly at the realization of what she was doing. This was a bad idea. No matter how it played out, all possible paths led back to her. They led back to her being trusted, being asked to trust again, and certainly to her being prodded for answers about questions she had hoped never to be asked. To stay with them was to open herself up to more pain. In the short time she had known them both, she had grown to like them, and that small fact alone terrified her. Still…

"Ok." She said quietly.

"Ha!" shouted Molikor, throwing his hands into the air in victory.

"She'll come with us!" yelled Solarius, accidentally knocking over his mug in his excitement.

"Hey, that's good beer you're mopping the floor with!" cried Molikor, his joy instantly turning to horror.

"Perhaps we'll need a few more in light of our new friend's decision." Said Solarius with a grin.

"Here here!" Agreed the Hunter.

Nariel, who had watched the whole thing couldn't help but smile. All she could do was shake her head in disbelief before tossing back the remainder of her drink. It was the first of many for her that night, and when she finally stumbled up to the room she had rented and collapsed unceremoniously on the bed, she thought that perhaps the alcohol and the evening's entertainment - which had ended up as a drunken Molikor trying to dance to the tune of Solarius banging a few empty bottles and yelling – might even help her weather the impending storm that she knew was coming when the reality of her foolish choice finally caught up to her in the stillness of her own bed.

* * *

She awoke in the morning before light, as usual. Her predawn routine of lacing up her armor was modified to include her mask _before_ she went down for breakfast this time – _I suppose that will be normal with these two around_ – and before long she was downstairs again to see the not unusual scene of an empty bar on the ground floor of the inn. The barkeeper had a few bits of meat left over from the previous day, one of which she bought and carried out to the small upturned boat that made up the makeshift stables.

Approaching the oversized ball of fluff that she recognized as the trio's deadly huntress, she prodded the cat with her foot until an eye crept open, to which she offered the meat. At the sight of food the giant cat popped up, licking her lips happily as Nariel placed the offering on the straw before Frostbite. As the cat gnawed at the meat, Nariel sat down beside it, stroking the creature's soft fur and peering out over the ocean where the sun was just creeping up over the edge of the horizon. There she stayed, whiling away the early morning hours with a hand buried deep within Frostbite's fur, the cat having returned to sleep with a very satisfied purr until the noise of the small port beginning its day grew to be too disturbing for her.

The cat made her feel strangely safe. She had no concerns about growing to like Frostbite; a tiger couldn't hurt her the way _he_ had after all. A tiger wouldn't claw away at your secrets, dragging up long forgotten memories. A tiger wouldn't judge her. Frostbite was special, that much Nariel had come to understand in her short time with the cat. She was smarter than a normal beast. It seemed sometimes as if she could understand how others were feeling; once, while aboard the ship, Molikor had tapped his foot along with the beat of the music that a few sailors were playing in their free time, and Nariel had glanced over to see the cat's tail swishing back and forth in time with her master. Another time, the cat had stepped in to lazily swat away a rolling bottle before it hit Solarius in the foot. They were tiny actions, almost invisible to most, but Nariel could read more in them. Frostbite wasn't just a pet to Molikor and Solarius. She was a friend, the same as either of them, and Nariel could understand why.

Eventually she rose, heading back to the inn where she found her two new companions at the bar, Solarius noisily devouring whatever the bartender had given him to eat while Molikor sat with his head buried in his hands.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, pointing to the Orc.

"Hm?" said Solarius, turning to see who had spoken. "Oh. Hangover." He said, to which Molikor gave a pained grunt.

Nariel rolled her eyes and turned to the bar. She found a mug of plain water before rummaging through her pack to produce a small vial of brownish liquid and a large glob of what looked like seaweed. She mixed them all together and placed the resulting brew before Molikor.

"Drink." She said simply.

He grunted again and opened an eye, dragging his head up long enough to examine it.

"Down it at once, it won't be pleasant." Nariel said, a smirk forming as she prepared to enjoy the show.

Molikor raised an eyebrow at her and then picked himself up off the bar before throwing his head back and pouring the mix down his throat. Immediately after finishing it he keeled over to the side, throwing up. When he had finally finished, he looked tired but glanced up at the pair.

"Any better?" asked Solarius.

"Actually yes." The Orc replied slowly, to which Nariel grinned.

"Really?" Solarius asked, turning to the rogue. "What was in it?"

Nariel shook her head, tapping the small vial of liquid. "My secret." She said, partially teasing them but mostly because if she actually told them, Molikor may very well be sick again.

Having finished her work with Molikor she took a seat between the pair. "With that out of the way then, it seems you two have convinced me to stay, and I would feel bad to go back on my agreement after the show he put on last night" – she motioned to Molikor – "so where are we heading?" she asked.

"Blackrock Mountain." replied Solarius. "We were contacted by an Orc; an old friend of Molikor's in fact." He said. "In his earlier days the Blackrock Clan was more of a threat than they are now. They raided the villages of everyone who was not among their clan, orcs included. In one of these raids, this Orc lost a very dear artifact." said Solarius. "It mostly only holds sentimental value to him, but he asked us to try and find it, suggesting that if the clan still had it, they would undoubtedly be holding it in Blackrock Spire, their last remaining stronghold."

"What type of artifact is it?" Nariel asked.

"A totem." Molikor said, having recovered enough to join the conversation. "He was the village shaman." He said, adding "to him losing a totem would have meant losing his attunement with one of the elements. It would have been like losing a brother."

"What makes him think they still have it?" She asked.

"The Blackrock clan experimented with dark shamanism a bit, but having twisted the elements they would not have been able to produce their own totems; the act requires the consent of the element being bound to it." Solarius said. "A totem would have held much value to them, serving to give them greater control of an element that would not have otherwise been granted through choice."

"I see." Nariel said.

"There's a delegation from Silvermoon here." Said Solarius. "For the most part, their business is no matter to us" he added with a wave "but one of the Magisters traveling with them has agreed to provide us with transportation to a small outpost of the Thorium Brotherhood near where we need to go called Iron Summit."

"It wasn't cheap." Grumbled Molikor.

"Such is life." Pointed out Solarius, before turning to Nariel and saying "Actually, they should be arriving soon. We'd better get out front and find them."

Nariel nodded as the group rose. They stepped out of the inn to where they had agreed to meet the mage. Near the stables, Nariel spotted a small goblin leading a hawk strider and a charger to their places – _The delegation_ she supposed. As they waited, she passed the time running her eyes over the stripes on Frostbite's back, while the tiger herself was waiting patiently beside Molikor, licking her paw lazily. They didn't have to wait very long before a small commotion drew her attention to the side.

"We don't have time for distractions Arcanis." Came an annoyed voice.

"I understand Captain, but they have already paid me. It will take only a moment." Replied a tall, white haired blood elf.

The captain, trailing behind out of view gave an audible sigh before giving in. "Very well, make it quick then." He said. "We are to be halfway through Stranglethorn by the end of the day, and we'll need to make good time to do it."

Nariel caught sight of the captain's armored hand waving behind the mage and glanced up at him, wondering at the source of the frustration. The Paladin's light blond hair was the first thing she noticed, followed by his eyes. It wasn't until he turned to look at her that the full weight of her chance encounter hit her: standing before her, in full armor of the Blood Knights was _Captain_ Sath'rovok.

_No…_She thought, the terror on her face hidden beneath her mask.

Her heart froze and her eyes locked with his, unable to pull away. Here was the one who had caused her so much pain. The one she had run to the far corners of the world to escape. The one who haunted her dreams and the source of her single most devastating vulnerability.

_Please let me be seeing things._ She begged, praying that it was just a horrible dream, but as reality faded away she stood there, staring silently at the cruel joke that fate had decided to play.

_Sath…_

As their eyes met, he gave a slight pause, his complaints immediately forgotten. His eyes narrowed as his expression hinted at recognition, but behind her mask she prayed he would not know the truth. Slowly he scanned her face, knowing there was something there for him to see, but unable to find it.

_He looks just the same. _She thought. His hair still fell off his shoulders in a mess, his eyes still glowed a soft pale green. His voice was still smooth, though it had grown more commanding. He still leaned slightly forward on his stronger right side and his gaze still felt like he could see into her very heart.

"-y?" She heard the echo of an unknown voice, but the outside world was lost to her, eyes locked with her former lover until a heavy green hand placed itself upon her shoulder.

"Did you hear me?" Molikor asked. "Are you ready?"

It was perhaps the hardest thing she had ever done, but slowly she tore her eyes away and nodded; she did not speak, remembering her vow that day: _He will never again hear my voice._

As the mage conjured his portal, she felt Sath'rovok's eyes locked onto her. She prayed the caster would hurry up, but just as the portal was finished and she thought that finally escape was in sight, Solarius spoke, in one short sentence revealing her the secret she so desperately wanted to keep to the person she hoped would never discover it.

"Are you ok Nariel?" He asked, the last word resonating like the blast of a bomb echoing off the walls of a deep canyon.

Sath'rovok's eyes shot open, and his jaw dropped just as Molikor stepped through the portal. His reaction was lost on the Orc, but not on Solarius who turned, thoroughly confused.

"Nari?!" Sath'rovok said, confusion and panic in his voice. She twisted her head to look at him, her eyes holding nothing but cold hatred. She grabbed Solarius by the arm, turning to the portal and pushing him through just as it closed. As she did, Sath'rovok lurched forward and his own arm shot out, his hand grasping at her, but where moments earlier she stood, there was now only emptiness as the portal sealed shut with a soft pop.

Half a world away, the pair materialized and dropped down onto the charred rocky ground. Solarius rose immediately, and glanced from the waiting Molikor to Nariel, who was still where she had landed on her hands and knees, shaking visibly as a silent tear dripping down into the ground.

"Er – Is she ok?" Molikor asked.

"I don-" Solarius started.

"Sorry." Nariel said rising as she steadied herself with a deep breath. The pain on her face was gone, as were her tears. Instead her well trained eyes were blank, her expression a mask of indifference. "I'm still not used to portal travel. It takes me a few moments to recover." She added.

Solarius' expression grew confused, and his eyes shot from the Orc to Nariel, who returned his searching gaze. There, beneath what he now saw was her false happiness, beneath her practiced calm, he saw what he was looking for. Her eyes begged him for silence as they moved from him to Molikor. He glanced back to the Orc, and then slowly his mouth closed with a barely noticeable nod.

The trio were resigned to stay there for the night, having been told that the dwarf who was to serve as their source of information was out on patrol. Solarius busied himself with preparations and various other tasks, but nothing he did could remove the image that was seared in his mind of Nariel on the ground crying. Had he not been present for her encounter, he would never have known that there was agony so expertly concealed behind her eyes, but even Molikor could not help but comment on one fact they both did notice:

Nariel was missing.


	8. Trust

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 7_

As soon as her companions had begun to busy themselves with their tasks, Nariel had disappeared into the shadows. Silently she slipped out of their tent and down the hill, past the dwarven guards until she was well away from the small guard tower that served as their camp.

And then, she ran.

She ran as if Sath'rovok were still there, reaching for her. As if she could feel him immediately behind her, his breath on her neck, his hand grasping at her shoulder. She ran until she couldn't run anymore, ending up on the edge of the great canyon that cut through the Searing Gorge like a giant knife wound. And when she finally stopped, out of breath, all of the walls she had so hastily erected to hide from her friends crumbled and the tears flowed freely. Even her mask could not hide the truth in her eyes: Seeing Sath'rovok again hurt just as bad as it did the day he broke her heart.

He had moved on. He had excelled. He was _Captain_ Sath'rovok now. His success only pained her that much more. It only reminded her of that moment in Fairbreeze when she had searched his eyes, desperate – more for her own sake than his she now realized – for any sign of remorse. But today when he had finally learned the truth of her identity she had seen the same emptiness as then.

She crumpled to the ground sobbing, wanting only for it to end. She would have gladly erased her own memory in a heartbeat if she could. For a fleeting second, her eyes drifted to the edge of the great cliff longingly, unable to let the thought fully enter her mind. As she sat there, a soft noise to her side drew her attention. She glanced over to see Frostbite materialize as the tiger slipped from the very same shadows she herself had used. The giant cat padded over to Nariel and sat next to her, making no sound but curling around the rogue in a comforting and almost protective manner. The act momentarily drew Nariel's mind away from her troubles, and instinctively she moved a hand up to the cat's head, scratching behind her ear.

_Frostbite knew_. She realized.

Somehow the tiger knew she was hurting. It was shocking, and she could never have guessed that a creature such as this could bring her such a degree of comfort but as the cat sat next to her, softly purring and laying against Nariel in a way that provided a perfect warmth, there was no denying it.

Frostbite made no action to try and amuse Nariel. She did not pry for attention or food. She simply laid there, a knowing and comforting presence; Nariel was shocked to discover that it made her feel slightly better, as if the fierce huntress had taken Nariel under her own protection until the rogue was ok again. It was equally surprising when the cat turned her head to the side as if looking at something, and gave a low growl.

"I'd say she definitely likes you." Solarius said.

Nariel's hand gripped the cat's fur a bit tighter at his words.

"Can't you see when I want to be alone?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Yes." The Paladin said as he sat down beside her, adding "But I can also see when you're upset. You shouldn't have to be alone right now."

"Please don't give me a speech about opening up." She replied. "Not now."

"OK." Solarius said simply, to her surprise.

They sat in silence, Frostbite having eased up again at her recognition of the Paladin and Nariel still sniffling. Despite feeling exposed to Solarius, it was oddly comforting to be surrounded by Frostbite and the Paladin. She felt as if she had been caught in a head on collision that had sheared off every layer of protection she had placed around her heart, leaving only a raw exposed wound, but just when she wanted more than ever to curl away and hide the two had stepped in to cover it from the world. Solarius had given her secrecy in front of Molikor, and Frostbite had known that Nariel needed comfort. Solarius' words from the day their ship had landed echoed again: _Perhaps in this instance we can help more than you think._

"Why did you come?" she finally asked, unable to hide the shakiness in her voice.

"You need to ask?" Solarius replied with a soft smile.

She said nothing but continued staring blankly to the ground.

"I think I see why you wanted to leave now." He said. "It's because I'm a Paladin isn't it?" he asked.

She nodded. "It's not you. It's him. From the moment you told me what you were, it reminded me of him." She said sadly

"Who is he?" Solarius asked quietly.

"His name is Sath'rovok. He was - still is - everything to me." She said bitterly. "We grew up together. We each found our calling together; he became a Paladin, and I became a rogue." She continued. "And eventually we fell in love together." She said, adding "But for whatever reason, I was not enough."

"What happened?" Solarius asked her.

"He found another." Nariel said with a sniff, adding pointedly. "It would have hurt less if I had not discovered it by chance."

Solarius gave a sad sigh, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It has been five long years." Nariel said. "Everything reminds me of him. Every Paladin I meet, every elf with blonde hair, every smooth voice." She said, her voice trailing off. "I did everything to forget. I ran from my home, hid from the world."

"I was happy once." She said quietly, her voice cracking. "He took everything from me. And he felt nothing for it, I saw it in his eyes then and I saw it again today."

She closed her eyes, whispering "I just want to forget…"

Solarius sat for a moment lost in thought before he spoke.

"If I were to ask you now to trust me – knowing only what you know of me and nothing more – would you?" he asked.

Nariel peered up at him slowly. "Against every instinct..." She replied, her voice barely audible "…yes".

It hurt to say. She did not want to; she wanted to hide again, but as she only now realized after years of trying, trust was not something you could bottle up and hide away. It was given and taken freely.

At her words, Solarius quietly moved his hand up from her shoulder to her ear, his eyes locking on to hers. He slipped his fingers around her mask, quietly unbuckling it. Instinctively her hand moved to stop him, but as it did he paused – a simple reassurance that it was by her choice and not his that he acted – before finally letting it slip off to the ground.

As it fell away she gave a small shiver, feeling naked in front of him. But it was not the familiar feeling of exposure that she noted. It was the lack of vulnerability. Even as her own armor was stripped away, the aura of comfort and protection which she felt from the Paladin and the great tiger never faltered. Slowly the full meaning of his actions dawned on her.

"If you only trust us" he said quietly, motioning towards the mask "then perhaps together we can find a way to heal the wounds that have tortured you alone for so long."

Nariel looked at Solarius and for the first time, she decided not to fight what he had been trying to accomplish all along. For the first time in five years she decided not to hide from someone.

"I trust you." She said quietly, almost a surprise to herself.

As the words left her mouth an incredible weight was lifted from her heart – one that had been so prevalent since this new chapter of her life began that she had come to assume it was natural. She felt as if in three short words she had finally uncurled her arms, letting everything flow freely. It still hurt – no amount of comfort could make her forget that she had seen him that day - but for the first time she felt as if she had someone to share the burden with. Solarius only smiled – not his usual wide grin that accompanied a joke or friendly banter with Molikor, but a soft, caring smile that reaffirmed her trust in him.

"Thank you." She whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"It's what friends are for." He replied simply.

And there they sat, for how long neither one knew. As the night rolled on every moment Nariel felt more of the wound healing – exposed perhaps – but free to heal now. She had locked away her feelings, refusing to trust anyone and protected herself not from outside pain, but from healing. It was a mistake that she would correct. It would be slow, and perhaps she might find it hard at first, but Solarius had helped her with the crucial first step.

That act made all the difference in the world to her.


	9. Into the Mountain

**A/N:**

Hope everyone is still enjoying the story!

I've gone back and corrected a couple spelling/grammar mistakes that slipped through in Chapter 7. That's what I get for editing in a rush.

* * *

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 8_

The next day began like most others for Nariel – early. She dressed and collected her gear the same as always except for one notable difference. Thought she was not quite ready to pack it away for good, she kept her mask off this time, hanging loosely from her belt. It was a symbolic change, the meaning lost to anyone but her and perhaps Solarius, but to be able to do it was a comforting reassurance that the events of the previous night had been real, and not just a wild emotional swing.

When they found the dwarven scout later that morning, his information was limited – he knew how to approach the Spire, what areas to avoid on the way to the mountain, and what they might expect to find, but overall it was nothing that they could not have discovered themselves, which left Molikor rather grumpy at their lost time. Traveling to the mountain itself would be quick – it was in sight from the tower, and a mere hour or so by foot.

The Thorium Brotherhood maintained patrols within a reasonable distance from the tower, ensuring that the risk of danger en route to the underground pass was very limited, so Nariel had passed the time quietly by letting her mind drift. Though she didn't want to, inevitably her thoughts began to shift to Sath'rovok. The night prior had been emotionally draining, and she didn't have the strength to hold down the thoughts of the Paladin that slowly began to bubble up. As images of his searching gaze slipped into her mind, her eyes glossed over and she began to simply trail behind the others, her mount automatically following them.

Solarius caught a brief glimpse of her and immediately knew what she was replaying in her head. He felt sad for her. It was a painful story to begin with, but she had been forced to relive it yesterday, and then speak to him about it. He knew it had taken tremendous courage for her to open up to him, and even more for her to endure and get up the next day. He hoped he had done some good, and he would do his best to catch her if she slipped up while she healed, but it was still up to her. And right now, it looked like she was having trouble with it.

"Nariel" Solarius said loudly.

"Wha-?" She asked, jolting back to reality.

"Have I told you about the time I saved Molikor's life?" He asked, his voice completely serious.

"Oh good grief." Said Molikor, exasperated.

"N…No." Nariel said slowly, shaking her previous thoughts from her mind. "I don't suppose you have." She confirmed.

"It was glorious." Solarius said.

"That's one word for it." Molikor mumbled.

"Quiet you." Said Solarius as he jabbed a finger at the Hunter before continuing. "He was trapped, chased into a cave by a wild beast."

"I was picking an herb." Said the Orc flatly.

"The creature stalked him relentlessly. It had distracted Frostbite before she knew what was happening." Solarius continued his story. "Suddenly it lurched for him. Molikor instinctively shouted for the one person in the world he could count on."

"I of course came swiftly." The Paladin said matter-of-factly. "Naturally, I dispatched the beast with ease, rescued dear Molikor, and saved the day." He added with a casual wave.

"It was a Mouse." Molikor said. "The damn thing shifted a rock that fell from a ledge and startled me."

"This fearsome killer" he said, pointing to Frostbite "was off chasing another mouse."

"You still screamed like a girl." Solarius said pointedly.

"Why you- I did not scream like a girl!" Molikor cried, shifting angrily in the seat of his wolf mount and trying to make his voice sound as gruff as possible.

"Sure you didn't" Solarius said, turning to Nariel and mouthing y_es he did_.

The rogue had broken out into a small grin at the story, thoughts of Sath'rovok instantly banished from her mind. It was no secret to either of them what Solarius was trying to do, and she appreciated it. She gave him a thankful smile, her mood instantly lightening up and the remainder of the journey she occupied herself with prying more stories from the pair, each more ridiculous than the last until finally she decided that at that point they were simply making things up. As they approached the base of the mountain, a giant iron gate stood before them cracked just enough to allow passage.

"No welcome mat?" Solarius asked sarcastically.

"They must not like rogues." Molikor said, giving Nariel a look of mock disapproval.

"I'll admit I've...ahem…made myself at home a few times in other people's houses uninvited." Nariel joked. "Still, to be judged unworthy…" she said with a dramatic sigh.

Molikor gave an amused grunt as the group slipped one by one through the gate. The dark cavern was illuminated by lava deep below, an imposing sight that matched with the heat wave that Nariel felt as they entered. Slowly their eyes came into focus, and they found they were on a large stone pathway that circled the cavern. As the scout had promised, the chains that held it in place had one spot where a brighter light than normal flickered, a dead giveaway as to their destination.

"There." Nariel said, pointing to it.

"Aye, that will be the entrance to the spire." Confirmed Molikor.

"Perfect, we'll just pop on up and ask if they've got any spare totems lying around." Solarius said, his voice friendly.

"With your good looks who could refuse?" Nariel mused. She was only half joking; now that she was beginning to ease up a little, she couldn't help but notice that her friend was actually quite attractive.

"Him?" Molikor laughed as the trio began their trek towards the chain. "Please, if there are any ladies up there, they'll want a real Orc." He said, thumping his chest.

"I wonder where we could find one of those." Solarius said to Nariel, who grinned in reply.

"Bah!" grumbled Molikor with a wave.

In short time they reached the chain, which Frostbite promptly scaled in no time, followed by Nariel who nimbly jumped from link to link until finally reaching the top.

"After you." Said Molikor, who had joined Solarius in amazement as they watched the two make their way up.

"Let me show you how it's done." Solarius said, grabbing hold of the giant chain and leaping up the first few giant links. A few moments later Molikor was bent over laughing as the Paladin fell crashing to the ground.

"Ow- Like you can do any better." Solarius said, getting to his feet.

With a chuckle, Molikor took the chain and bounded up, a few steps farther than his friend before joining him on the ground once again in an unceremonious heap. This time it was Solarius' turn to take pleasure in the orc's failure.

"Get comfortable." Nariel said to the giant cat at her side, plopping down on the nearby ledge with her feet hanging over, where the tiger promptly lay down beside her with a bored yawn.

By the time the pair had gotten up, Nariel had grown bored of laughing at their failures and turned to sharpening her daggers once again. As Solarius and Molikor caught their collective breaths, she peered up at them with a smirk.

"Are we finally ready then?" she asked, prodding Frostbite before rising to her feet as Solarius gave a nod.

"Good, just one more thing I need to do." She said, as she searched through her pack. Grasping what she needed, she pulled out the tiny bottle of brown liquid and trickled a few drops of it onto her blades.

"That's what you put in the hangover cure isn't it?" Solarius asked, eyeing it carefully. "Wait, is that poison?"

"You poisoned me?!" Molikor cried.

Nariel waved her hand dismissively without looking up from her task "Only a little." She said casually.

"What's wrong with you?!" the Orc yelled.

"It worked didn't it?" Nariel replied. "You had to get the rest of the alcohol out."

She grinned as he turned, throwing his hands up in the air and muttering something about rogues that she assumed she didn't want to hear. To her side, Solarius watched in amusement as the whole scene unfolded before turning to follow the Orc down the tunnel. By the time they reached the actual entrance to the spire however, her offense was forgotten and the mood turned more serious. Light hazy smoke wafted out of the stone doorway, which told them that someone had a fire going on the other side.

"Stay here, I'll go check it out." Nariel said, motioning to her companions, who nodded.

Quietly she slipped up to the door, which was cracked just enough for her to inch through without disturbing it. Inside she slipped into the shadows, hugging the wall until she reached a large open room. Peering into it she saw a large bonfire going, the source of the smoke. Around it was a collection of red skinned orcs, two of whom were sleeping with one posted to keep watch.

Silently she moved around behind him, careful to ensure that she stayed in the shadows the whole time. When she finally took a few careful steps out, it was only to inch towards him before bringing the hilt of her dagger down hard on the back of his neck, incapacitating him instantly. A quick check confirmed the other two orcs to be drunk, and thus unlikely to wake up, while her victim was indeed out – for quite some time it appeared. Satisfied, she quickly retreated out the door and motioned for her friends to follow.

"Damn." Solarius whispered, upon seeing the passed out orcs.

"Remind me not to piss her off." Molikor added.

Nariel said nothing but moved up a nearby set of steps, into the next hallway. They rounded a corner and came to a large overhang looking down upon an empty room scattered with debris. A small group of orcs conversed in the corner, one of them brandishing an axe while another cheered. Nariel put a finger to her lips and motioned again for her friends to stay while she slipped along the edge of the wall, nearly invisible.

"-Rok'thor will change that." Said one of the orcs.

"You believe that fool of a shaman can lead our clan Grol'ok?" asked the one with the axe.

"Can he do any worse than our current spineless 'warchief', Krol'dor?" replied Grol'ok.

"Aye, there are things much worse than having free roam of a mountain." Said Krol'dor.

"There are also things much better." Came the reply.

"Why would he do any better?" asked Krol'dor.

"He controls the elements." replied Grol'ok.

"Bah! He waves his arms around and then dodges their fury well enough while they ransack everything around him, his target included!" yelled Krol'dor

"No, he's finally unlocked the power of the totem." Said Grol'ok

"That old thing?" said Krol'dor. "I'm surprised he still plays with toys like that. Any sensible Orc would have burned it for firewood by now." He said. "At least then we may have gotten some use from it." He added, motioning to the dwindling fire.

"You are blind Krol'dor" said Grol'ok. "He will not forget it when he takes power."

"If he takes power…" added Krol'dor. "He has to come out of his little dungeon first."

Nariel turned and slid back along the pathway to her friends. Motioning them back away from the orcs, she revealed herself from the shadows before saying with a grin:

"I know where it is."


	10. Rok'thor

**Twisted Fate**  
_Chapter 9_

"So this…Rok'thor…has it then?" Molikor asked, to which Nariel nodded.

"And he's where?" Solarius asked, a confused look on his face.

"They mentioned a dungeon, which usually means down." Nariel replied. The trio scanned the room, seeing not one but two sets of stairs descending.

"Which one?" asked Solarius, glancing from the first to the second uncertainly.

"I don't know. They only mentioned where he was, not how to get there." Nariel said, adding with a hint of sarcasm "I didn't think it was a good idea to ask."

Molikor gave an amused grunt while Solarius continued to inspect their options.

"So what do we do then?" asked the Paladin.

"I think we should split up." Nariel said.

"I agree." Said Molikor.

"You two take the first set. I'll take the second." She suggested.

"I think I should go with you." Solarius replied quickly.

Nariel thought she heard a hint of worry in his voice. For some reason, it brought a small bit of happiness to her, even if she didn't think his concern was warranted.

"Aye, you two go together." Molikor said, adding "I'll take Frostbite. She's more than enough."

"We go until we figure out which path is correct, then we turn back and meet up here." Solarius said firmly.

The trio nodded in agreement before setting off, and Nariel and Solarius moved swiftly. Despite their caution, it became immediately apparent to them that at least the tunnel they were currently in was unguarded, though they couldn't tell yet if it was the right path. As they walked, the pair eased up a little, slipping into light conversation.

"Are you feeling any better today?" Solarius asked.

"Yes, thanks to you actually." Nariel replied with a smile.

"I'm glad. It's good to see you without the mask on." He said.

"It feels a little strange." She replied, adding "I've worn it so long out of habit that not having it on feels almost like I'm missing a part of my body."

"You look good without it." Solarius replied, before he thought about his words. "Er – I mean…not like that. I mean you do look good, but…you know…" He tried to correct, stuttering in embarrassment.

Nariel gave a shy smile and laughed as she shook her head. He turned away, an act she was thankful for to prevent him from seeing her blush.

"Anyways." Solarius said, clearing his throat and pointing ahead to a small light. "I think we're getting somewhere."

"Stay here." Nariel said, motioning for him to wait as she quickened her pace. Stepping forward, she peered around the corner into the room. It seemed empty, so she called quietly for Solarius to follow as she stepped inside.

In an instant she realized her mistake as a loud battle cry rang out to her side moments before a huge axe swung through the air towards her. Caught by surprise, all she could do was watch as the blade raced squarely towards her chest. As it connected however, it bounced off just as Frostbite's fangs had when the tiger had first attacked. Recognizing the shield for what it was this time, Nariel instantly rolled to the side, sweeping the legs out from beneath the stunned Orc. He gave a pained grunt as he hit the ground before rolling over and popping back up, axe in hand. With the element of surprise gone, he readied himself in a battle pose waiting for Nariel to make the next move.

Her mind went to work, analyzing the situation with the cold efficiency that five years alone in the world had taught her. The room was littered with debris and light was sparse; it was perfect conditions for her, but not so much for the Orc. Slowly she eased around deliberately forcing him to turn with her. To her side, Solarius readied his sword and stepped around behind the Orc, splitting his attention. Though he kept track of the Paladin, the Orc's attention never left Nariel. A moment later he charged her with a furious war cry, swinging his axe wildly as she dodged, unable to counterattack due to his speed.

As he rained blows down upon her, he forgot entirely about the Paladin who focused solely on protecting Nariel. When the Orc paused however, even for only a split second, Solarius struck. A pillar of light erupted from where the Orc had been standing, the creature having dodged it by a split second. He turned to Solarius, rage building and began to let out another war cry, but Nariel stepped in with her opportunity and plunged her dagger into his side before dodging away as he whirled angrily, slipping into the shadows and out of sight just as the blood began to seep down the Orc's hip.

_It's just a matter of time now._ She thought, eyeing her poison tipped dagger. The venom wasn't lethal, but it would make quick work of his energy and keep him knocked out until long after they had finished their business and made their escape.

The Orc's movements began to grow sluggish, and his mind turned against him, sensing the rogue in every dark corner and crevice. He struck a weak blow towards Solarius to keep him at bay before spinning wildly, slashing at the air behind him as if Nariel were there. She watched calmly from a distance, prepared to strike if Solarius were to be in any true danger but letting her poison do its work otherwise.

Finally the beast fell to his knees, dropping the axe beside him. Nariel waited a moment longer and to her surprise he let out another weak cry before rising shakily to his feet again. A burst of light erupted from the orc's head, knocking him back to the ground and stunning him; Solarius was not willing to let the fight continue. Instantly Nariel reappeared and kicked his axe away before dropping to him, her dagger at his throat.

"Where is Rok'thor?" she yelled, pressing the tip upwards. The Orc struggled momentarily but she increased the pressure until he realized his position, and eventually he stopped fighting her.

"Where?" she repeated once she was certain she had his attention.

"S-stairs" came the gruff reply, as the Orc pointed with the shaking hand that Nariel had not pinned down.

"How far?" she asked.

"Close." He gasped, adding "next room."

Satisfied, Nariel turned her dagger upwards, bringing the hilt down on his head and rendering him unconscious. She rose after checking him, noting that as she thought, he would live.

Solarius had watched the entire scene with a slight frown, and Nariel gave him a confused look.

"What?" she asked.

"You're terrifying." He said simply.

"Thanks." She replied, amused.

A loud crash came from the direction the Orc had pointed out, and Solarius took a step backwards.

"We should go find Molikor." He said, concern in his voice. "Quickly."

"Too late." Replied Nariel, taking a defensive stance as the door blew off its hinges.

Where the door had stood moments earlier was a gigantic red Orc. His robes had streams of each element flowing over them and his eyes glowed blood red. His expression was one of joyful anticipation making Nariel think he seemed…insane. His facial expression was augmented by three deep scars – _Claw marks_ Nariel realized – that ran diagonally across his face, cutting through his left eye and the middle of his nose. But the most interesting thing of all to her was in his hand - a large wooden totem bearing the glowing orange markings of a fire elemental.

"I thought I heard vermin out here." He said deviously, taking a few slow steps into the room. "Tell me, who has come to die today?"

Nariel crouched down low, sizing him up. "No one, if you hand over that totem." She said.

"Ha!" laughed the Orc, returning her penetrating gaze with his own fierce eyes.

"No?" Nariel pressed. "We would hate to cause you any trouble." She said, mocking the Orc.

"I welcome the challenge." Growled Rok'thor, as a ball of fire formed in his hand.

With that the elves charged, dodging the myriad of elements thrown at them with ease at first. Solarius reached Rok'thor before Nariel, but as he readied his sword to strike, the Shaman gave a loud roar, and the ground shook beneath him, opening up as a large earthquake split the floor. Solarius shifted to the defensive, avoiding the chasm that had opened up but as he focused on dodging the ground, Rok'thor called forth a blast of air which hit him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backwards. He crashed into the rear wall with a sickening crunch and Nariel looked over to see only a small cloud of dust and a few stones clattering to the ground on top of him. To her relief, she saw him move, even if only to writhe in pain.

"Come then, let's see if you can do any better." He said, turning to Nariel.

The rogue, on guard now for his tricks decided to use a few of her own. She raced towards him in a straight line, causing a large grin to spread across the orcs face – _too easy _he thought. As she grew near he summoned forth another burst of wind, but as it struck, she shadow stepped – a complex move that few rogues had mastered, and she could barely pull off – reappearing behind him.

"What?!" cried the Orc in surprise.

Caught off guard, Rok'thor twisted wildly looking for the rogue but could not see her. He didn't know where she was until a moment later when her dagger pierced his shoulder, coming out cleanly on the other side.

"Arrrggghhhhh!" he screamed, swinging around behind him wildly with his uninjured arm.

To his pleasure, he heard a surprised cry as it connected with the unsuspecting rogue. Instantly he felt her vanish, shadow stepping back across the room and reappearing some distance away clutching her side. The Orc grinned maliciously at the sight, blood leaking down his own arm.

"It's been awhile since I had a good battle." He said, licking his lips before adding "The whelps left around here are too weak to put up a good fight."

Nariel held her side gingerly as she watched for her poison to take effect. To her surprise, she Shaman called for a restorative spell, cleansing himself of the venom instantly.

_We'll have to do this the hard way then._ She thought.

As he took a few steps towards her, his path was cut off by Solarius who, having recovered, stood between the pair now, his shield raised.

"My turn." He said.

His voice sounded confident but Nariel saw he was favoring his left side. His sword was lower than normal where his right arm could barely hold it up, and his foot rested at an odd angle where he tried to shift the weight off of it.

"You had your chance." Rok'thor said a ball of fire forming in his uninjured hand, shouting "Now get out of the way!" as he unleashed it.

"I don't think so." Said Solarius, taking a defensive posture. The fireball struck Solarius' shield dead on in an explosion that rocked the walls around them. Nariel gave a worried cry, but to the surprise of both her and the shaman, Solarius stood unharmed, save a few burn marks on his shield. At the sight of his defiance, the shaman began to grow irritated.

"I tire of this." He said angrily. "Amusing as this distraction is, I have more important things to do."

Twisting his hands above him the room began to fill with wind. All around the Shaman, a cyclone of elements formed, mixing air, fire, earth, and water together in a devastating combination.

"Die!" shouted the Orc, throwing his hands forward as the tornado sped towards the pair.

Solarius shot sideways, barely dodging it and Nariel managed to scramble aside just in time as well, but it was a split second before the shaman sent another towards them, and then another. The pair were fully on the defensive now, and it was all they could do to keep from being caught up in the elemental storm when a white blur caught Nariel's eye. The shaman had just raised his arms for another cast when a single arrow flew through the air, and it wasn't even a second after it struck the Orc directly in the chest that the blur materialized into Frostbite, who sank her teeth deep into Rok'thor's neck. The shaman let out a cry that was silenced mid scream, and before he had time to understand the turn of events his life had ended.

Solarius limped over to help Nariel to her feet before turning to his friend. "About damn time you got here!" he shouted.

"Me?! What happened to 'let's regroup when we figure out where we're going'?" Molikor replied defensively.

"He blew off the door, that's what happened!" said the Paladin.

"Here we were getting killed and you were off lounging around, waiting for everyone to regroup." Solarius said, waving his arms as he spoke.

"What if we had died? You would have to find a new Paladin to follow around." He said.

"Hah! As if I could get rid of you so easily." Molikor said with a grin. "I'm more worried about her." He said, pointing to Nariel. "She might disappear again if you let anything happen to her."

Solarius laughed. "Oh, I don't think we need to worry about her" he said before motioning to the incapacitated Orc.

"Eh?" Molikor asked, glanced from the Orc to Nariel and then gave an approving nod, adding "Nice."

Stepping over to the fallen shaman, Nariel knelt down. "I believe this is what we're looking for." She said, pointing to the totem.

Molikor glanced over just as she reached out for it. The last thing she heard before the totem exploded at her touch was Molikor's alarmed cry.

"Nariel No!" he shouted, scrambling towards her.

And then there was only darkness.


	11. One Trip

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 10_

"No….N…Th…F…..Y?"

A barrage of sounds hit Nariel like a battering ram to the head, alerting her painfully to the fact that she had regained consciousness.

"-'s improving." Said an unknown voice.

"Are you sure?" Came another voice she recognized as Solarius.

"Aye lad, t'was a nasty hit she took but she'll live." Said the unknown voice again.

"I should have warned her." Said Molikor.

"You had no way to know the elemental would react that way." Solarius said, comforting his friend.

"I've seen it before!" Said Molikor angrily. "I should have checked it first. I could have recognized it." He said. "She could have been killed!" he yelled as a loud crash accompanied his fist hitting a table.

The sound echoed like the roar of a dragon in her pounding head and she winced uncomfortably, though the pair did not notice.

"Molikor, this was not your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault." Solarius said. "Go get some fresh air. You've been in here all day." He said. "Go get food, play with Frostbite. Do something to take your mind off it for a little while."

Molikor sighed. "You're right." He said, adding. "I'll be back." Before turning and departing the tent.

After a few moments of silence, Nariel carefully opened her eyes, cautiously tempting them with light as her blurred vision slowly came into focus. When she had finally adjusted, she tried to sit up on her elbows, crashing back down to the bed with a whimper as pain overtook her. She lay there for a moment before opening her eyes again, glancing around. She didn't recognize where she was, but she was certain it wasn't Blackrock Spire, if for no other reason than because she could see the sky through the flap of the tent.

"Nariel!" exclaimed Solarius at the sound of her cry.

"S-Solarius…" she said. "Where are we?"

"Iron Summit" he replied, kneeling by her side. She looked around, noting a small female dwarf – the source of the unknown voice, she supposed.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, her voice strained. "All I remember is the totem…exploding…"

He nodded slowly. "It's good that you remember it at least. I don't know the details of it but from what Molikor said, it sounds like the fire elemental that inhabited the totem had been corrupted by years of abuse." He said. "When the Shaman died, he finally relinquished control over the elemental, which chose to destroy its totem rather than allow another person to touch it."

"Of course the one totem I touch would be more volatile than goblin dynamite." Said Nariel, coughing. "What happened after it exploded then?" she asked.

"We brought you here." Solarius said.

"And the totem?" she asked. At her inquiry, Solarius produced a few small wooden shards.

"This is all that was left." He said.

Nariel looked at the splinters with a frown. "So I get blown up and you two don't even get what we're after?" She teased.

Solarius gave a small laugh, happy to see his friend in good spirits.

"Not necessarily." He replied. "Molikor's friend really only wanted closure. We can give that to him now." He said.

"I suppose that's something." Nariel replied, testing her ability to sit up briefly again before deciding against it with a painful cry.

"How bad am I?" She asked, her breath ragged.

"Not good, but you're going to be ok." Solarius replied, his voice reassuring. "Rok'thor got you good – two ribs broken, and you'll be limping for a while from the totem."

"You're doing much better than when we got you here." He said. "Ilisandra – the priest" he motioned to the dwarf "is a miracle worker. She saved you from some pretty nasty burns.

Nariel glanced at the dwarf, who shrugged and stepped out of the tent.

"How are you feeling?" Solarius asked.

"Something – my ribs I guess – hurts a lot when I try to sit up." She said. "But otherwise I'm feeling better than a moment ago when I woke up."

"If you like, I can try to help there." Solarius said. "Healing isn't my specialty, but I'm capable of a little."

"Please do." She said, wincing as another jolt of pain shot through her side. "The quicker the better."

"Just relax then." Solarius said, bringing his hands up to her side.

She gave a small gasp as she felt his warm fingers connect with the side of her chest; the dwarf had removed her chest piece, so the only thing keeping her decent was the string of bandages that had replaced it. He closed his eyes and ran his hand down her side, and then over to her stomach before moving it back up her front and then to the side of her chest. He repeated the circular motion for a few brief minutes, and as he did she felt a slight tingle as the numbness was once again replaced by feeling.

She closed her eyes and focused on his touch. His fingers felt foreign, but pleasant. His touch was light, but she could feel the roughness in his hands that came with a lifetime of adventure. Wherever his fingertips moved, warmth followed. It spread over her as if it were water, and he massaged it in gently, hitting her injury perfectly but never aggravating it, and a few times she felt herself shiver from his fingers.

Finally he stopped, opening his eyes and breathing deeply. She could tell that the process had drained him, but she was thankful for it – she tenderly rolled to her side and swept her around, joining him where he sat on the edge of the bed. She looked sideways at him and for a brief moment she thought she caught his eyes trailing down her exposed torso before rising to meet hers, but she chose to ignore it, assuming he was just checking her injury.

"Thank you." She said softly.

He said nothing in reply but smiled and nodded as she rose, searching for her armor.

Eventually they made their way out of the tent. Her injuries were not fully healed, but between the dwarves and Solarius' healing, she was well enough to get around. Molikor apologized profusely when he finally returned, to the point where she had threatened to poison him again if he didn't stop blaming himself. That at least had brought a smile to the Orc, the first since she had been injured.

"So?" Molikor had asked her, finally in good spirits again.

"So?" Nariel replied, confused.

"One trip. It's over now." He replied.

"Ah." She said, understanding where he was going.

"Will you be staying?" Solarius asked nervously.

Nariel paused. She hadn't really given it much thought. _Then again, it doesn't really need much thought._ She said to herself, thinking back to all that had transpired.

"Yes." She said, nodding. "For now, I'll stay."

* * *

When the excitement had finally died down a few days later Molikor packaged up the remnants of the totem and left them with instructions to be taken by the next courier to Orgrimmar, and so the group had started on their way again, and their pace quickly left the Searing Gorge behind. It was nearly a week after departing Iron Summit that the group found themselves camping in the Badlands, having decided to trek north. As was her usual custom in the evenings, Nariel had wandered off to enjoy the night under the stars for a bit. She had grown so accustomed to being snuck up on by Solarius that when she heard his voice, it really didn't even surprise her.

"There you are." He called out, the sound of his footsteps growing closer.

She turned her head to glance at him. "Hey!" she said with a smile.

He plopped down beside her, glancing upwards to the sky. "It's a beautiful night." He said.

"Yes. Seeing the Sky like this reminds me of Silvermoon a little bit." She mused.

"I do miss it sometimes." He replied. "Though I never spent much time there anyways, since our home was in the woods."

"Oh?" she asked. "What part?"

"Fairbreeze Village" he said.

"Fairbreeze Village…" she echoed, her voice trailing off.

"Yes." Said Solarius. "Why?" he asked.

Nariel gave a small grunt.

"Fairbreeze Village is where one life ended, and another began for me" she said.

"I see." He replied. "That would be where you found Sath'rovok then." He said, almost whispering the name to test her reaction.

"Yes." She replied, surprised not to feel the familiar sting at hearing his name.

"Why did you leave?" she asked him, deciding her past was not something she wanted to dwell on tonight.

"I've always been sort of…wild." He said, choosing his words. "Fairbreeze was home, but there is only so much excitement to be had in a small village before you start...getting into trouble." He added.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"I didn't like the path my life was heading down if I stayed there." He replied. "I was always doing something; exploring here and there, trying to discover new things." He said. "But eventually you explore it all. Eventually there is nothing left to discover in quiet little Fairbreeze Village." He continued. "And when that happens you start turning to new things. Creating your own excitement. I made that mistake only once before I had someone wise recognize that I needed to get out."

"What did you do?" Nariel asked.

"I almost got my best friend killed." He said. "Worse than killed; turned undead." Solarius continued, a sad look spreading across his face.

"I was a child at the time. It was a boring day, and we had nothing exciting left to do. One of us got the bright idea to go explore the Dead Scar." He said, continuing "For whatever reason I decided it would be more fun to _rescue_ someone from the Dead Scar."

"I told my best friend that his Sister had wandered down there. After he got a good head start, we gathered our practice armor and set off after him." Solarius paused briefly, sadly recalling the day.

Finally he continued. "When we got there he was surrounded by undead. Obviously we were no match for them. It was pure luck that a passing Ranger heard our cries and saved us. After that my Father told me that I needed to get out of Fairbreeze. Not because he was angry or disappointed, but because he knew that thrill-seeking was in my blood. I couldn't try to change it, but neither could I stay cooped up where I could get someone killed."

As he spoke, Nariel leaned her head on his shoulder. A great sadness had grown inside her at his story, and she realized that even he, as happy and friendly as he seemed now, had his past problems. As she sat there, she felt his arm go around her shoulder. At his touch her mind relaxed a little, but she felt her heart rate rise ever so slightly. As the revelation of her own reaction hit Nariel, it sent a shockwave through her, and she stiffened immediately.

_Oh no._

_This can't be what I think it is._

"Are you ok?" Solarius asked. "You seem uneasy all the sudden."

"Y-yes, I'm fine." She said, failing to hide her quivering voice.

"I know you better than that." He said.

Despite her best attempts, she could not hide her body language.

"What's wrong?" the Paladin asked as she sat up, lifting her head from his shoulder.

"I…Nothing." She said, staring down at the ground and knowing she was fighting a losing battle.

Solarius turned to her, his voice reassuring. "Nariel…you can trust me, remember?"

She sat in silence, her mind racing. How could she fall for him? He had done so much for her. He was an amazing friend, and certainly attractive. That alone should have been enough for a girl with any sense, but she was damaged. She had tried love before, and even through all he had done to heal her pain she wasn't sure that she could do it again.

_And yet here I sit, heart racing at his touch._ She thought, her mind suddenly uncertain.

She looked up, searching his eyes but remained silent for a few moments more. Finally, picking her words carefully she spoke.

"It's not something wrong Solarius." She said. "Just something…surprising."

"Can you tell me what it is?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet." She said. "But it's not anything wrong." She reaffirmed with a smile.

"Thank you. For everything." She said, replacing her head on his arm and closing her eyes.

_Shit._ She thought to herself. _What now?_

"When you're ready." Solarius said simply.

For the moment Nariel was content where she was. Her mind would have to unravel this new problem on its own but she knew that if it came to it, she could talk to him. Her own thoughts were racing through her mind so quickly that she did not notice the hidden uncertainty in his own voice, but if she could have put her head on his chest instead of his shoulder she would have heard the telltale thumping that might have reassured her that her feelings were not so one sided after all.

Indeed, as he sat there under the stars secretly marveling at the beautiful elf leaning against him, the simple act that let him know just how much of a comfort he was to her set his heart pounding, even as his mind raced.

_Shit. _He thought to himself. _What now?_


	12. Hopeless

**A/N:  
**Thanks to those who have reviewed so far! They're a lot more rewarding than you might think, so keep letting me know what you think of the story!

Also: Had this chapter edited and ready to go, and got a shiny brand new Windows 8.1 blue screen of death, so I apologize if round 2 missed any spelling/grammar/continuity errors. If you spot one, send me a message!

* * *

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 11_

"You never stood a chance." Solarius said.

"Like hell I didn't!" Molikor replied. "I had her wrapped around my finger until you two showed up."

"-and told her you weren't actually a Warlord-" the Paladin interjected.

"Minor detail." Replied the hunter quickly.

"- or a veteran at all really - " Pointed out Solarius.

"She had long forgotten about that anyways." argued Molikor

"– or that you hadn't singlehandedly defeated an entire column of Alliance – " Solarius said with a grin.

"My memory recalls it differently." replied the Orc defiantly.

"- or that you weren't related to Thrall by blood." Prodded the Paladin.

"Bah!" grunted the Orc. "You're supposed to be on my side here!" he grumbled.

"Really, where do you come up with these things?" Solarius replied.

"I have to say, Molikor's version of the story was much better." Nariel said, smirking.

"Thank you!" cried the Orc, waving his hand at the Paladin.

"Still, it was rather hilarious to see her reaction when Solarius told her of your…exaggerations" She added.

"For you two maybe." Said the Orc, his hand moving up to his nearly solid black eye. "Why can't Orc women just slap you like normal females?" he grumbled.

"If you're feeling short-changed I happen to have the necessary qualifications, and I'm feeling generous." Nariel offered with a smirk.

"No thanks." Molikor said flatly, as Solarius howled in laughter behind him.

Nariel grinned widely and leaned back in her chair at their quiet corner table in the inn. They had been traveling for a few weeks, and were now in Undercity. They had no real direction, and had decided a few days rest might help them all so they had found an inn in the part of the sprawling underground city that was still inhabited by the living, where the previous day Molikor had tried to regale one of the women he had found with his stories until Solarius and Nariel had returned from their tasks and corrected some of his _oversights. _

Since the night in the Badlands, Nariel had been finding that her Paladin friend stirred reactions more and more within her. She sometimes caught her gaze lingering upon his smile for just a moment longer than she intended, or her thoughts drifting to him when she was not otherwise occupied. It was troubling, and she was having a very difficult time coming to grips with what it meant. Deep down she knew of course but as much as she had healed, a stubborn part of her refused to acknowledge that perhaps she might have a growing interest in someone.

A pleasant, but equally unexpected side effect of her new Paladin distraction was that her mind wandered to Sath'rovok less and less frequently. The initial days after their surprising encounter in Stranglethorn were painfully reminiscent of when she had first set out from Silvermoon; he had been everywhere - in every face she saw, every phrase she heard. Her mind was surrounded by him in its entirety, and it was agony all over again, even with the protectiveness of her friends around her. But now their run in was nearly forgotten. She still might think back to it for a few minutes here and there, but Solarius had a knack for recognizing when this happened by the blankness in her eyes, and each time without fail he was there with a witty joke or a comforting hand to bring her mind back to happier thoughts, an act which she appreciated immensely but still served to further the growing inner turmoil she was feeling.

On this particular night Nariel had been out on her own. She had needed to have a few repairs done to her armor, had visited a few shops to collect supplies for more poison, and had done a few other minor errands that she couldn't get done unless they were in a large city, so it was late when she made her way back to the inn. She stepped inside to the sound of her friends' boisterous laughter, and immediately suspected they were drunk, a thought which was confirmed when she saw Molikor slumped over in his chair, one arm around a tall – and equally intoxicated – troll. Solarius was beside him, leaned against the bar with a mug in one hand, his drink sloshing over the top with his every jerky movement, and his other arm wrapped around a slim brown haired female elf. His mouth was turned up in an unnaturally wide smile, and like the Orc she immediately recognized that the he and his companion was drunk as well.

Seeing Solarius with the elf made her uneasy. She wasn't sure why; perhaps it was the way the girl hung off of his shoulder, or the fact that she was practically in his lap. While the girl was annoyingly close to Solarius – or so it seemed to Nariel at least; somehow she doubted that _he_ had a problem with it – what bothered her more was the enjoyment he seemed to be getting from it. She walk up to the pair quietly, and was slightly upset that he didn't even notice her until Molikor shouted out her arrival for the entirety of Undercity to hear.

"Nar…Nariel!" came the Orc's slurred yell. She caught him as he stumbled, trying to get up and walk over to greet her, before pushing him back up into his chair without a word.

"Ha! You're back!" cried Solarius, spinning around to look at her.

"Soli…Solonus, who's thish?" asked the female drunkenly.

_She doesn't even know his name._ Thought Nariel, making no attempt to hide her scowl.

"Nariel, meet Ish…Ish.." He said, trying to recall the girl's name. "Meet my new friend!" he said finally, settling for a different answer.

Nariel said nothing but watched him with a disapproving look that he seemed not to notice, lost in his drunken stupor. The girl had caught her facial expression and gave a lopsided smirk in return, turning to the Paladin and wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned in close to him and crawled fully into his lap, giving Nariel a victorious grin as his arm slipped down around her waist unknowingly.

"Here! Drink!" he said, offering her his half empty mug with his free hand.

"No thanks." She said tensely, pushing it away. "I see you two are enjoying yourselves." She added bitterly.

"Aye, it'sh been too long since we had some fun!" yelled Molikor, entirely too loud.

"Yea! Tonight I've got my pretty little elf, and a bag full of beer money, an' I'm not shtoppin' un…until one of them wears out." Solarius said, raising his mug above his head and glancing unashamed down at the girl's chest as Molikor cheered drunkenly in approval.

The comment felt like getting punched in the gut to Nariel, who had seen enough.

"Enjoy your evening then." She said quietly, turning on her heels and quickly heading for the door.

A familiar feeling of sickness crept up on her, one she had known from before, when she found Sath'rovok. Each step it got worse and she quickened her pace, until by the time she reached the door she was nearly running. The last they would have seen of her, had they been watching, was the tip of her ponytail disappearing as she vanished. It would have been hard to spot anyways even if they had not been drinking, but the alcohol was solely to blame for them missing the only other vital clue that she was not ok: the soft noise of sniffling drifted through the inn before being silenced as quickly as it had appeared as she disappeared out into the world.

_What was he doing?_ She thought as her pace finally began to slow.

_Couldn't he see she was upset?_

She stumbled alone through the streets, for how long she didn't know. She thought of the grin he had been wearing, of what he would be doing right now with her. _To her_…

Each step she felt more hurt. She felt as if what she had just seen were scraping at the edge of her wound. As if it were trying to grab her feet and drag her kicking and screaming right back into the despair he had so recently helped her crawl out of after so long, and no amount of clawing or pleading for mercy would save her.

_He's no better than Sath…_ She told herself, surprised to believe her own words.

Eventually, arriving to where her legs had mindlessly carried her, she slipped into one of the small hallways that dotted the city, away from the main paths. In these there was a quiet solitude, a retreat from the normal loudness of the world. It was dark, and she could become invisible in an instant. She felt right at home. For the first time in a long time, she felt unprotected. No mask. No Frostbite. No Solarius. All she wanted was to hide, to be alone - and there was nowhere better in Undercity to do it.

_How could he do that?_ She asked herself, feelings of betrayal welling up.

The image of the elf crawling into his lap froze in her mind. _How could he let me see him with her?_

Her next thought ran through her head before she could catch herself: _Do I really mean nothing to him?_

Instantly the absurdity of the notion hit her. Of course she meant nothing to him. He was not hers. He had been friendly but had never showed any interest beyond that. Why would he care what she thought if he wanted to go pick up a girl for the night?

_I'm being stupid._ She told herself. _He can do whatever he wants._

She knew it was true, but it did nothing to ease the dull pain or fill the void that she felt at seeing him with another girl. If anything it made it worse; it was an acknowledgement that she was, to him, exactly what she had wanted to be for so long until now - _just a rogue_. It was wrong. She felt selfish and petty for thinking it, but stripped of her protection and left vulnerable she could not fight the thought that crept into her head:

_I wish it could be me he was with instead of her._ She thought jealously, a silent tear falling down her cheek.

Even if he wasn't hers, she didn't want to see him like that - drunk and out of control, excited about another girl. That wasn't him. He was kind, trustworthy. He was her anchor in a storm. Rowdy sometimes, but never like that. What she had seen at the bar made her question everything.

Had he truly meant it all, or had his words just been hollow comfort so as to not be rude? She sat quietly as more tears began to fall. She desperately didn't want him to be a lie. She couldn't survive it, but neither could she deny what her own eyes had seen earlier, or what her own ears had heard. She was losing a battle she was fighting alone, one that she hadn't been aware was raging until she saw it look her in the face, one arm drunkenly caressing another elf's body. It wasn't just that; the thought stung more than Nariel had expected it would, but there was something else bothering her.

_I want him._ She thought painfully, finally acknowledging the feelings she had been trying so hard to ignore. _I can't stop it._

She buried her face in her hands, unsure what to think of all the emotions she had been denying that she finally allowed to flow freely.

_I'm hopeless._ She thought sadly. She had learned nothing. For five years she had guarded her heart closely, weary of anyone and everyone. And now, the first time someone had come along and stolen her so closely guarded trust, she had fallen right back into the trap again.

Right back in…

…_love?_

* * *

That day had been trying for Solarius even before Nariel had wandered off into the city.

He was never comfortable around undead to begin with – he was a Paladin, after all – so being in a city full of them wasn't his idea of "restful". But his friends had insisted it would be good for them all, so he had agreed to stay. It's not like he could really argue against Nariel anyways. She had an odd effect on him. He could go toe to toe on wits with Molikor any day; doing just that provided the foundation of their friendship and the bulk of their entertainment most of the time, but when he was alone with her she had a strangely calming effect. He turned from wild to tame in an instant, and he could easily become lost in all of her intricacies.

She was not like a normal elf, this much he had recognized early on in their friendship. She had been exposed to the cruelness of the world and those who inhabited it, and had survived. Though she did not seem to realize it, he saw that she had an unbreakable will. She could endure years of the worst form of torture alone and still keep from turning bitter and cold. She had been changed, undoubtedly so, by the loss of her former love, but she had adapted, and had channeled that into a life of adventure and exploration. He was enthralled by her. Her beauty, her personality, the iron resolve that could hide her pain so well – even if he wished she would not do so.

So it had made him rather annoyed when on top of being cooped up in a city full of undead, she had announced that she was disappearing for the day. He had wished that she would offer to let him go with her, but it seemed like she hadn't even thought of it, so he had turned instead to the bar, talking away the day with Molikor who was equally as bored. His friend had seized upon the chance alone to pry at the change he had noticed in Solarius recently.

"Are you ok Sol?" he asked, using the name that let Solarius know his the topic was a serious one.

"What do you mean?" Solarius replied.

"You seem off lately." The Orc had asked. "Distracted more and more."

Solarius shook his head. "I don't know." He said. "There's nothing wrong. Perhaps I'm just thinking more often." He added.

Molikor glanced at his friend uncertainly. "Thinking about what?" he asked. "Or perhaps…who?" he added with a telling emphasis on the last word.

"It sounds like you already know." Solarius said.

"Aye." Came the reply. The Orc paused for a moment before adding, "She's an interesting creature."

"That's one way to put it I suppose." The Paladin replied. "I'm finding her in my thoughts more and more."

"Unwelcomed?" asked the hunter.

"Not necessarily" said the Paladin. "But it's difficult to wrap my mind around sometimes."

"What part?" asked Molikor.

"Whether or not I'm infatuated with the prospect of someone new, or something more." Solarius answered.

"Mmm." grunted the Orc.

"And more importantly, the wild chance that she perhaps has the same problem." The elf added.

"You know the easy solution?" Molikor asked. "Talk to her." He added when Solarius shook his head.

"Aye, that would go over well eh?" Said the Paladin. "Hey Nariel, I can't stop thinking about you. I was wondering if maybe you're thinking of me a lot too?" he mocked.

"Short and to the point. I like it" Said Molikor simply.

Solarius laughed before saying "You have no concept of romance do you?"

Molikor gave a wide grin and gestured to his still blackened eye. "If its romance you're after, you might not want tips from me brother." He said.

"But if you're trying to get her off your mind for a bit" Molikor said, gesturing to the bartender. "I think I can help you there." He added as a pair of frothing mugs were placed in front of them.

Solarius eyed the mug carefully for a moment before a tap on his shoulder caught his attention.

"Hey there." Came the smooth voice of a small brown haired blood elf, her eyes narrowing on Solarius. "Mind if we join you two?" she said, motioning to a female troll behind her.

Solarius eyed her for a moment before turning back to his mug, looking at it as if it were trying to tempt him, but unsure with what. Finally he shook his head slowly, patting the bar next to him.

"Not at all." He said. "Have a seat."

And with that he tipped his drink back, chugging the first of what would become many brews for the night.


	13. A Natural Reaction

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 12_

The only indication that night had fallen in Undercity was the increased activity of the undead, who were mostly nocturnal. It was oddly backwards to Nariel, but that thought was not on her mind as she slipped quietly through the streets. The night had been a disaster for her. On top of seeing Solarius at the inn with another girl - _not the first time I've seen that from a Paladin_, she had noted with bitter irony - she had come to realize that she was in serious danger of falling in love with him. Or perhaps she already had; she wasn't really sure. As soon as the thought had crossed her mind she had frozen in fear, the realization immediately followed by an overwhelming desire to escape. Nariel had not questioned her instincts this time; she had only fallen back to the natural reaction that had protected her for years:

Nariel was running away.

As she moved through the Undercity she silently berated herself. She felt foolish, hurt, and angry at the same time.

_Why didn't I just listen to my head?_ She asked herself. _I knew this would happen._

_What's wrong with me?_ She thought, each step leading her farther from rationality. _Why do I let this happen?_

Had she really been that naive the day they caught her getting off the boat in Stranglethorn? Had she really convinced herself that she could stay with them - get close to them even - without risking everything?

_I deserve this. _Nariel decided bitterly.

It served her right for trusting someone again after all she thought she had learned, and she was lucky to have found out his true feelings now rather than after she had grown even closer to him.

Quietly she approached the inn. The sounds of laughter from her friends had long died out, replaced with the quiet calm of night as the live quarter of the Undercity slept opposite it's freshly awakening dead citizens. She stepped inside quickly, heading straight for her rented room. What few possessions she had were scattered about, and she considered leaving them; she didn't know how long she could stand to be there. As she packed up her gear, something fell out of her bag. Kneeling down, she wrapped her fingers around the soft leather, recognizing it instantly as her mask.

_Perfect._ She thought. In an instant it was back on.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She felt the sense of protection return but it wasn't like before. It felt the same, but she saw it now for what it was; it felt as if she had draped a blanket of thorns over her heart. The mask was her feeble attempt at hiding away from the world, but in the absence of true friendship she had been fooled into thinking that it was a shield of iron rather than a barbed cage. It felt nothing like what she had known since that night in the Searing Gorge.

Still, for five years it had kept her safe, while her foolish gamble had only caused more pain.

Her things packed, she slipped down the stairs and out towards the stables. She could see her wolf sleeping peacefully just where she had left it, but as she approached, a familiar white blur materialized in front of her.

"Frostbite?" Nariel exclaimed, surprised.

The cat crouched down slightly, a low growl escaping its jaws. Her mouth was turned up in a snarl but she was not preparing to strike; instead she looked defensive. Nariel looked at her in shock for a moment until she realized that the cat was there for the same reason she was.

_Just like in the Searing Gorge..._ she thought. _Frostbite knew._

"I'm sorry girl. I can't stay" she said apologetically before quickly walking past the tiger and draping her pack over the wolf's saddle.

The mount had awoken at the noise, and at the sight of the agitated tiger its fur prickled up slightly. The cat gave another low growl and took a step towards the wolf, but whatever the creature was preparing to do was lost as fate intervened once again.

"-y" came Molikor's muffled voice as he approached the stables.

"Mhm." Came a grunt from Solarius, not far behind.

_Of course._ Nariel thought to herself.

At the sound of their approach, she quickly stepped aside into the shadows, becoming invisible just as the pair turned the corner.

"You should have fed her before we started drinking." Complained Solarius, clutching his head.

"I wasn't exactly thinking that far ahead." Replied Molikor gruffly. "It's not like you mentioned it either."

"Yeah yeah." Said the Paladin, pausing before adding "Well, it's not like I can sleep anyways."

"Aye, my head is already killing me." Said the Orc. "I'd even take some more of Nariel's poison if it would fix this."

As he reached Frostbite, the cat had lost focus of the rogue but now pawed at Molikor's foot uneasily.

"Eh?" he said, looking down at his pet. "I know, I'm sorry we forgot." He said, placing an oversized slab of meat before the cat.

"_He_ forgot" said Solarius, pointing accusingly to the Orc.

But Molikor had grown suddenly concerned at the fact that the cat did not even sniff at the offering, instead continuing to paw at his foot. His instincts as a hunter took over and he immediately picked up that his pet was uneasy.

"Something is wrong." He said, sobering up instantly.

Molikor looked around the stables, as if expecting to find the source of his pet's discomfort but saw nothing. Nariel's heart skipped a beat and she held her breath as his eyes scanned directly over her, but it was only a reaction – she knew as well as they that she could not be found unless she wanted to be. Suddenly a thought struck Molikor like a blow to the jaw.

"Where is Nariel?" he asked gravely, adding "She should have been back by now."

Solarius immediately straightened up. "You think she's in trouble?"

"I don't know." Replied Molikor quietly, his voice drifting off as he looked around again.

Finally the effects of the alcohol began to wear off as he forced his mind out of its groggy haze. He closed his eyes, tuning them in to the expert vision he had as a hunter before once again scanning them over every crack and shadow, up to the rafters and finally around to where Nariel's mount was standing. The wolf made no sound, its eyes locked on Frostbite, who had turned away from it. He stared at it for a long moment before finally it hit him. The clue had been hiding in plain sight the entire time. He couldn't believe he had missed it.

"Look." He said quietly, pointing to the wolf, Nariel's pack draped over its side as if it were a giant sign spelling out her intent in flashing lights.

"What?" asked Solarius, his voice growing more panicked. "You think she's leaving?"

"I don't know." repeated Molikor, glancing around again before walking over to the wolf.

He inspected the creature briefly before lifting his eyes, turning to stare directly at Nariel. Her breath froze as his eyes searched the shadow. Molikor stared at the spot for nearly a full minute. Something was strange about that particular corner of the room. It was darker than most. In fact, he was almost positive that Frostbite had been staring at it as well only a moment ago. Perhaps it-

"I'm worried about her." Solarius said.

Molikor stared for a moment longer but whatever thought had been inching into his mind dispersed instantly. He shook his head before turning to the Paladin.

"What do you want to do?" He asked.

"We need to find her. She may be in trouble." Solarius replied.

Molikor nodded in agreement. "Come, we need to get our things." He said. "Quickly."

Nariel watched the pair retreat to the inn, guilt rising in her chest. They were the only friends she had. Leaving again - especially without warning - would hurt them. It made her feel worthless. She watched them go before turning around to see Frostbite scanning the corner again knowingly.

If she stayed it would only cause her more pain. She knew she could not control what she felt for Solarius, but after today it had driven home the point: he was not hers. Whatever she felt was one sided. If she left however, she would hurt the two people who had done so much to help her heal.

Could she really look at herself and say she was better off now than before they met? Was the pain of not having what you wanted any better than the pain of losing it entirely? The questions raced through her head even as her instincts screamed at her again. She had ignored them before and now look what had happened. Could she risk it again?

Perhaps she could try, she thought. Maybe she could learn to avoid him and slowly regain control of her feelings. Maybe tonight was just a tipping point and it would get easier to ignore from here on out, she thought.

_No!_ Her mind screamed.

Had she really learned nothing? An image of Sath'rovok, arms wrapped lovingly around the black haired female flashed torturously in her head, followed by the victorious look she had seen from the brown haired elf as she sat in Solarius' lap. Nariel squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see any more, but the images in her mind kept flowing. Sath'rovok's eye's, devoid of any feeling for her…Solarius watching the girl longingly, and a reminder of what he had promised to do to her.

_No more! _She pleaded silently with herself as she heard the clatter of running footsteps approaching.

Time was up. What did she do? Stay, and hope to control it, or flee, and live with the pain she had incurred? Out of sheer willpower she forced the images from her head, quickly thinking over her options.

"-rt." Came Solarius' voice.

For some reason hearing it calmed her. Even without knowing what he said, she heard his tone; she heard his concern for her. Her eyes crept open slowly as the choice became clear, and in an instant everything she had just felt was hidden behind her trained eyes.

_Very well then._ She thought; she would have to act quickly_._

As her friends entered the stables, Solarius approached her mount while Molikor went directly to Frostbite. As soon as they stepped past her, she emerged from the shadows behind them.

"What's going on?" She asked, conjuring her best surprised face.

"Nariel?!" Solarius exclaimed.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, motioning to their full armor.

"Yes." Molikor replied uncertainly. "At least…" he paused, scanning her carefully. "Yes."

"You hadn't come back, and we saw your wolf packed." Solarius said slowly. "We thought something had happened."

"Oh, yes." Nariel said, trying to sound surprised. "I forgot my things earlier when I got back." She said, moving to the wolf and lifting the pack off of it quickly.

"Where were you?" Molikor asked.

"Just out for a late walk." She said with a hint of finality, hoping to avert their questions. "Sorry to worry you."

The pair said nothing but finally Molikor turned with a wave of his hand. "Good to know you're alright then Nariel." He said. "I'm going to sleep."

"Goodnight." She replied, watching him go.

With the Orc out of sight, Solarius took a step towards her. "Nariel…" he said slowly.

She turned to him, the scene earlier in the bar not forgotten. "Yes?" she said stiffly.

He paused, looking from the wolf to the rogue, pack in hand. Her eyes seemed unusually cold, he thought. He knew her well enough to recognize that she was hiding something from him bit he could not determine what.

"Nothing." He replied finally. "I'm glad you're safe."

She said nothing in reply, but turned on her heels and retreated to her room inside the inn.

She stepped inside, closing the door quickly and crashing down on her bed where she spent the rest of the night awake, wondering if she had made the right choice. Across the hallway, Solarius lay awake in his own room replaying the scene from the stables over and over, trying to understand what he had felt was odd about it. Just when he was ready to give up, it hit him. His concern and the darkness had caused him to miss it at the time but it was perfectly obvious now. Despite his revelation the simple act led only to more questions. But he had no doubts now; she was distraught over something.

There was no other reason Nariel would have been wearing her mask.


	14. A Missed Opportunity

**A/N:**

I was torn between whether to split this into two chapters or not, but decided to keep it as one. It's the longest one of the story and has been one of my favorite chapters to write so far, so enjoy!

* * *

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 13_

The next day, feeling slightly refreshed, Molikor suggested they leave Undercity. Solarius readily agreed, and Nariel was not in the mood to argue, so they decided to meet back in front of the inn when everyone had collected their equipment. Nariel was the last to arrive, and as she led her wolf out of the stables the other two came over to greet her.

"Ready?" asked Molikor.

"Yes." She replied flatly.

She hadn't slept well the previous night – a recurring theme for her since Solarius had become a growing interest - and she was still upset over what had happened, so she wasn't in a particularly sociable mood. The whole morning she had avoided the Paladin where best she could, and as soon as she felt his curious gaze on her she wished she could do so for the rest of the day as well.

"We were just discussing our plans earlier" said Solarius.

"Aye." Nodded Molikor.

"And they are?" asked Nariel, refusing to look at the Paladin.

"We've been asked for assistance." Solarius said. "A Tauren traveling to Silvermoon wishes for us to escort him."

Nariel frowned at the suggestion. She was already in a sour mood and now they had decided they were heading back _there?_ She hadn't been back to Silvermoon yet, and had no desire to return.

"Any other options?" she asked hopefully.

"Unless you want to wander around aimlessly, no." said Molikor, his attempt at humor falling flat.

"I see no reason not to aid him." Said Solarius, the Orc agreeing with a nod.

Nariel tried – and failed – to hide her sigh. "Well, let's go then. Where are we meeting him?" she asked.

"He's arriving by airship tomorrow morning. We should be able to get to Brill by the end of the day, and meet up with him early tomorrow near the Zepplin tower." Solarius said as the trio began to move towards the edge of the city.

"He's not here yet?" Nariel asked, looking to Molikor.

"No." the Orc said, shaking his head. "It was another Blood Elf who approached me for the task. They're expecting him in Silvermoon."

"I see." She replied, not wishing to converse any more.

As they traveled, Solarius and Molikor were locked in some debate that Nariel was ignoring, and Frostbite strolled casually at her side. The cat had seemingly forgotten about the previous night, happy that the rogue was still there. Nariel had been half concerned that the tiger would be on edge once again this morning which would certainly raise Molikor's suspicious but the cat had only risen from her sleep, stretched lazily, and then gone to Molikor's side to gobble up his daily offering of meat, sparing the rogue no more than a casual glance.

The journey to Brill was shorter than they expected and they arrived in nearly half the time Solarius had predicted, so after they had stabled their mounts they found themselves with an entire evening to spare.

"Let's see if these undead have anything edible around here." Molikor said after they had paid for their rooms.

"As long as it's not alcoholic." Solarius joked. "I need a few days off of that stuff." He added, Molikor chuckling beside him.

"I'll pass." Said Nariel to the surprise of her companions, adding "I'll be upstairs if you need me." Before turning to retreat to her room, gone before they could argue.

"Hm." Said Molikor curiously as he watched her go.

"Maybe she's tired." Said Solarius uncertainly.

"No matter, more food for us." Said the Orc with a slight wave, turning to survey the inn.

Nariel made her way upstairs quickly. Her room was dark, the mark of an undead inn. The wooden walls were faded and the Candle had burnt out and never been replaced, though she wouldn't have lit it anyways. The sun was just setting, and a few minutes later the room was enveloped in near total darkness, except for the little bits of moonlight that shone through the broken window. Nariel sat quietly on the bed, her back against the headboard and her legs pulled up to her chest. She crossed her arms across her knees and lowered her head to rest on top of them, trying to clear her mind. Downstairs she could hear Molikor's booming orcish laugh mixed with the muffled voice of Solarius. It created an unnerving ambience that made the task of pushing them from her mind that much more difficult.

Well…pushing him from her mind.

Solarius had taken over her thoughts. Images of him with the elf taunted her. She had forced them down the night prior, but they had returned with a vengeance. She wanted desperately for them to stop. If he was not hers then so be it, but why did she need to dwell on it? Why couldn't she just be normal? _Why am I so broken?_ She thought with despair. _I want what hurts me, and I can't keep what I finally get._ She told herself. Her mind turned over and over again as she searched desperately for a way to shut it off. She didn't notice that her door – broken already – had crept open until she heard the knock.

"Ahem…" Solarius cleared his throat as he peeked around the edge of the opened door.

Nariel's head shot up, and she instantly shifted, trying to look more relaxed, but she knew he had seen.

"Yes?" she asked, deceptively calm.

"Can I join you for a moment?" Solarius asked.

Nariel gave a sigh before nodding.

Solarius sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around the room slowly. "Seems a bit dark in here." He said.

"Yes, well…rogue." She replied flatly.

"Right." He said, shifting uncomfortably.

The pair sat in awkward silence for a brief moment before Solarius spoke.

"You were leaving last night weren't you?" he asked, jumping straight to the reason for his visit.

"I'm still here aren't I?" she replied.

"That's not a no." he said, her silence confirming his suspicions. "Why?" he asked.

"Do I need a reason to leave?" She replied, somewhat defensively.

"I would hope you would need a reason to leave, rather than a reason to stay." Solarius said. "Please talk to me."

"Why?" Nariel asked, suddenly on edge. "Why should I keep trusting you?" She continued, her voice beginning to rise.

"I trusted you once and look where that got me!" she yelled.

Her eyes turned harsh as she glared at him losing control of her emotions. "You're no different than _him!_"

"What do you mean I'm no different than him? Who?" cried Solarius. "What did I do?!"

"How can you not know what you did?" Nariel accused him. "You were perfectly clear with your intentions!" she added, his words from the bar echoing in her mind.

Solarius only looked at her shocked.

"All you wanted was some girl to _wear out_!" She yelled. "You don't even care who!"

"Nariel! What are you talking about?" yelled Solarius incredulously.

"Is that why you were so friendly to me?" She asked, her voice cutting him like a knife.

"How can I trust you after…" She yelled, her voice trailing off at the end.

"What in the world is going on?!" Solarius asked desperately, the worry clear in his voice.

"Please just go away." Nariel said, her voice suddenly quiet before adding firmly "Now."

He sat there with his mouth open, thoroughly confused before she turned away from him.

"Go!" she shouted.

At this he rose quickly, moving towards the door. He gave her one last worried look before stepping out, pulling it closed behind him. And with him gone, Nariel returned to the embrace of the darkness, silently wishing she had run when she had the chance.

* * *

The next day Solarius was upset to see that when Nariel emerged from the inn, she was wearing her mask. He understood the meaning well, though he was still clueless as to the cause. Wordlessly she gathered her mount and joined her companions just as the Tauren arrived, the huge Zepplin having docked only minutes prior.

"Greetings" Said the large bull slowly. "I am Rantuk."

"Well met Rantuk." Said Solarius.

"I am Molikor." Said the Orc.

"These are my friends Solarius and Nariel." He said, motioning to the pair.

"Hail." Said the Tauren with a nod, his greeting returned by the elves.

"Are we ready then?" asked Molikor, to which Rantuk nodded.

"Very well then, let's ride." Said the Orc, as he and Rantuk turned their mounts eastward.

Solaris hung back momentarily, turning to Nariel when the pair were out of earshot, but she cut him off with a glare from beneath the mask and turned her mount swiftly to follow after them.

The trek went smoothly but as they rode Nariel found herself overcome by uneasiness. Tirisfal was a lonely place. A couple months ago she might have found it perfect; it was dark even in the day, the Forsaken cared little for socializing, and there was always work for a rogue. But now it served only to amplify the feelings she no longer wanted to embrace.

To make things worse Solarius rode stubbornly at her side. She knew the message in her eyes had been clearly received: _stay away._ Still out of stubborn defiance he matched her pace. Several times she had slowed or sped up only for him to do the same. He said nothing but she knew he was only waiting for the opportunity, should they fall out of earshot of the others.

By the end of the first day they were at the border. They camped on the Tirisfal side – "We'll face little trouble until we cross over" Molikor had noted – and in the morning they set out at first light, entering the Plaguelands with a heightened sense of danger.

As they neared the ruined city of Andorhol, Rantuk spoke. "This land calls out in pain." He said.

"What?" asked Molikor, confused.

"He's a Druid." Said Solarius pointedly.

"The Paladin is correct." Said Rantuk. "Many view this land as dead; for the most part they are correct, but parts of it are still alive." He said. "Not visible perhaps – the undead destroy any signs of life that they find. Much of what little spirit the land retains is secreted away in the nutrients of the soil or the freshness of hidden water springs, away from the claws of the Scourge." He continued "but it is still there, and it still reels from the loss where life flourished not long ago."

The trio said nothing in response, but felt the sadness of the druid shared between them. It was true; the Lich King and his minions had ravaged the former nation, leaving it even worse than the parts they had destroyed in Quel'thalas. The human kingdom had been unlucky enough to be at a location the undead would later claim for the dread citadel Naxxramas. The very fortress itself spread contagion wherever it went, so it was unlikely that the land could be healed.

Surprisingly, nothing exciting happened for the next few days. The group found that while the Plaguelands were indeed overrun by Scourge, the Argent Crusade had at least managed to hold the roads. Several times, Nariel had thought she had seen the glowing blue eyes of an undead only to find that when she turned to look into the trees they had disappeared. Though she suspected they did not get through unnoticed, they did get through undisturbed, and before they knew it they had crossed the Thondoril River and turned north.

The river marked a sort of border; the Plaguelands encompassed a wide swath of what was formerly Lordaeron, but all that was east of the river was even more corrupted than the unrecoverable area to the west. The Crusade held even less of a grip here, and not even the roads were safe.

As they rode, Nariel caught a hint of movement in the corner of her eye. She paused, turning to look but saw nothing. Unsure of her instincts, she nudged her mount aside and pulled slightly behind the group to investigate. Peering around she saw dead trees toppled over, mounds of soil that had been dug up by the Carrion Maggots that infested the area, and the skeletons of the wildlife that had populated the land prior to its corruption, but nothing particularly dangerous or alive caught her eye. When she turned back to look for the group, they had progressed quite farther than she expected.

She nudged her mount forward, preparing to catch up with them but just as the wolf took its first step, a stiff bony hand connected with her side, knocking her cleanly out of the seat.

"Rrreeeeaaaaaghhhhh" Came the sickeningly dull cry of a skeletal warrior.

Nariel landed hard on her shoulder, the breath knocked from her by the surprise attack. She lifted her head to see the creature's armored foot coming down at her face, and rolled aside just in time, jumping back to her feet.

To her horror, as she began sizing up her opponent, not one but two more skeletons appeared, shambling out of the trees with surprising speed. They made no fierce battle cries, but gave only a relentless dull moaning as they stared at her, their faces holding two small but very telling blue glowing orbs rather than eyes. Nariel looked around for a path of escape but saw none as the warriors surrounded her.

The first lunged again, his huge bony cleaver coming down where she stood and sending her dodging backwards, where the second warrior immediately thrust his sword forward, a strike she barely managed to parry with her two small daggers. Immediately the third slammed it's shield into her back, sending her flying towards the first again with a pained cry where she managed a desperate swing that connected, knocking the tip of his blade away just in time.

As she twisted away from each attack, the skeletons drew closer and closer, taking away her space inches at a time. She dodged strike after strike, but more and more their blades began to find their mark. At first they only managed to slice her armor, but then she felt a freezing sting as a blade cut into her waist, then another caught her leg. They were little more than cuts but she could feel her resistance giving out as she continued to spin wildly, caught like an animal in a trap.

Her breath grew more panicked and she began to look around more franticly, searching for any source of retreat. Finally she ran out of room as a strong rusted gauntlet landed squarely in her chest and sent her flying, landing on her back a short distance away. She lay there motionless, trying to regain her senses but when she did, all she saw were three sets of bony feet shambling towards her. Already exhausted, she closed her eyes accepting her fate.

Surprisingly, it did not come.

Instead she heard a high pitched wail, along with a soft hissing sound. She opened her eyes to see one of the undead attackers explode, light shooting from it in all directions like drops of burning acid. The second warrior turned away from her, swatting the glowing light that landed on it frantically just as a perfectly placed arrow severed its head from the rest of its body, snuffing out the blue fire that had burned within it as it split the bone forming his neck cleanly in half. The third skeleton however had closed in on her, determined to finish what they had started. As it thrust its giant sword downward, she squeezed her eyes closed. She heard the familiar sound of a sword connecting just before she felt it, followed by the sickening wet slosh of blood spraying out.

And then the pain came.

It seared, her whole body on fire as the rusted and plague infested blade sank deeply into her. This time it was no small cut; no slice in her hip or leg. The sword was buried in her shoulder, impaling her and pinning her to the ground, barely missing her heart as she had turned away at the last moment. Seconds after the blade came down, a burst of light shattered the warrior, not a single bone left intact.

Nariel screamed in agony, but as the infection began to tear through her, she grasped a single thread of hope – she was alive. Clawing back to reality, she forced her eyes open and looked around at her savior.

"Nariel!" Solarius shouted, kneeling next to her.

"Shit!" cried Malikor. "How bad is it?" he yelled, already on his way over.

She screamed out as the pain returned in full force, her body being devastated by the plague that had been thrust into her by the blade.

"Stay with me!" yelled Solarius, cradling her head. "Rantuk! Do something!" he yelled.

As the pain grew worse she felt her consciousness fading and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Hold her still!" yelled the Tauren, moving to her side. "I can cure the infection and close the wound, but I must act fast. She cannot move!" he cried as his hands began to glow a soft pale green.

"Nariel! You have to fight this!" Yelled Solarius, clutching her tightly. "You have to control it!"

As her mind began to grow hazy, she clung on to his words.

"KILL!" Boomed a raspy voice.

She let out a pained gasp as the voice tore through her head, forcefully trying to push out all other thoughts as she clawed at his arm, trying to find an outlet for the torture.

"YOU ARE MINE NOW!" it echoed, bolstered by a fresh jolt of pain as Molikor tore the sword free of her shoulder.

Still she fought. She clung to the words of her friend with all her might, desperate to survive, but the voice was relentless, each second bringing a new command, bellowing through her mind as if it were a battering ram, shattering her thoughts and immediately expanding its control to fill the void.

Suddenly it faltered. The overwhelming pressure of its presence in her brain began to shrink and she felt the pain dull the slightest bit with it. Then it shrank a bit more.

"I think it's working." Said Rantuk as a soft green light flowed from his hands to her, to which Solarius gave a relieved sigh.

"Thank the light." He muttered.

As Nariel slowly began to calm, he laid her back gently on the ground, moving his own hands to help the druid heal her. He was not extremely proficient in the art, but if he could help in any way he would. Small streams of light shot from his fingertips towards her body, twisting effortlessly around the seams in her armor to slip between them and down to their target.

She looked like hell. Her skin had paled and her bloodshot eyes held dark circles around them, nearly black. She was covered in cuts and bruises and blood seeped from her shoulder, even as the wound sealed itself under the green glow of the Tauren's healing. Her hair was a mess, and it fell sloppily around her face in a tangled heap. Even as terrible as she looked, Solarius gave thanks that she was alive.

Weakly her eyes crept open and she whimpered in pain. Her shoulder was still on fire, but the wound was closed and the infection was gone. The rest would just take time. She peered up at her friends, worried looks on their faces and did the best she could to smile in appreciation, but finally her body gave out as she drifted off into unconsciousness.

"Nariel!" Cried Solarius, panicking.

Rantuk put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "She is only unconscious." Said the Tauren. "She will live."

Solarius nodded solemnly, saying nothing.

"Come." Said the druid. "We should depart before more Scourge appear." He added, to which Molikor readily agreed.

Solarius carried her gingerly to his mount, crawling up behind her as Molikor fashioned a sling for her arm out of some torn cloth from her pack. The group set out at a tear, Solarius holding onto her as they rode as fast as they could. They needed to get out of the Plaguelands; it had been luck that Rantuk was with them, but now both he and Solarius were spent. If something else were to happen, there would be no hope.

They rode for hours, and just as they crossed into the Ghostlands, Nariel began to eek back into consciousness. Her mind felt exhausted, as if it had been pummeled. Her whole body ached and she felt drained, but she was alive. It was a far cry from being seconds away from death, or worse; Nariel shuddered slightly at the memory of the voice.

Solarius noticed her shift and pulled her close, saying nothing but feeling his heart soar when she weakly grasped his hand and leaned back into him before closing her eyes again.

"Let's stop here for the night." Molikor said, pointing to a nearby cave.

"Yes, that will provide good cover." agreed Rantuk, as the group made their way into the cave.

Quickly they settled in. As soon as Nariel dismounted she began to feel better. Though her body had been forced to shut down earlier, it had made good use of the time she was out; as Solarius helped her move around, he even commented on how much healthier she suddenly looked. Her eyes no longer bore the dark circles and Rantuk's healing had taken care of many of the smaller cuts entirely, though there was no doubt that her shoulder would bear a scar for the rest of her life.

"I'll take first watch." Nariel offered as Molikor fed Frostbite. "I don't think I'll be sleeping anyways." She said.

"You shouldn't do it alone." Said Rantuk. "If anything were to happen you are not at your full strength."

"I'll stay up with her." Offered Solarius.

Nariel shifted her eyes downward at his suggestion, but dared not refuse. He had been trying since the morning in Brill to get her alone; now it seemed he was more determined than ever after what had happened, and after everything he had done for her she wasn't inclined to argue. Before long, Molikor and Rantuk had created a small fire, which they quickly settled down around. As they drifted off to sleep, Nariel felt a familiar presence appear at her side as Solarius took his place sitting on the rock next to her.

"Thank you again." Nariel said quietly. "You've saved my life three times now."

"Three?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied. "Frostbite, then Blackrock Spire, and now this." She said

"Well, to be fair Rantuk did most of the work, but I suppose I can take credit on his behalf." Solarius replied jokingly, which brought a small smile to Nariel, though it was hidden under her mask.

"So" Solarius said.

"So?" She asked.

"You still don't trust me." He continued after a pause.

"What?" Nariel asked.

"I can see it in your body language." He replied. "Though I can't understand what I may have done to lose your faith."

Nariel sighed. "It's not you Solarius." She said. "By now you should know that."

"It seemed to be me a few days ago, when you were shouting at me to get out." Solarius replied.

Nariel turned to gaze at him. "I was" - she paused, trying to decide how to phrase it - "unreasonable…at the time."

"You were upset about something." Solarius said.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"Are you still upset about it?" He asked.

She turned her head, gazing out of the mouth of the cave. "Yes." She said quietly.

"What is it?" Solarius asked her gently.

Nariel paused, thinking over how best to express something with words that she could not entirely comprehend with feelings.

"The bar…" she said simply.

"In Undercity?" He asked, to which she nodded.

"You were different." She said. "The way you were acting…"

"It bothered you." He said.

"Yes." She nodded. "It shouldn't have." she said, shaking her head. "You are free to do as you please."

"That does not always mean I should." He replied.

His own mind was racing at the thought of _why_ he had been drinking in the first place. Molikor's advice – as jokingly as he had intended it at the time – echoed in his head. _Just ask her._

"Seeing it; seeing you like that reminded me of Sath." She said.

"Seeing someone I'm…" she paused as her voice trailed off "Seeing someone I considered a friend doing the same thing he had done unnerved me." She finished.

"Were you…jealous?" Solarius asked, testing the waters. To his surprise she nodded.

"Yes." She admitted after a pause.

Her answer sent Solarius' mind spinning. She was jealous? But why? Did she actually feel something for him? Or was it simply the sight of a friend with someone else bringing back old memories?

He put an arm around her and pulled her close, being careful not to aggravate her shoulder.

"Nariel…I'm sorry." He said, peering down at her.

"You don't have to apologize" She whispered. "You did nothing wrong."

"I hurt you. I can understand why you were upset." He said. "I'm sorry."

She said nothing, but turned up and looked into his eyes, unsure what she hoped to see. He stared back, frozen in her gaze. Slowly, without breaking eye contact his hand came up. His fingers found the mask, and when she did not protest he slipped it off.

As it fell away her full face was revealed. Her lips were parted ever so slightly, her nervous breath escaping at steady intervals and where she had hidden her emotions a moment earlier Solarius now saw only excitement at his touch. Before her mind registered what was happening, Nariel leaned forward towards him, tilting her head up slightly. Her eyes slipped closed and she drew ever so close to him. She felt his breath hit her lips, quickening as they drew near. Her heart stopped and her mind froze as she gave in completely to the desire she could no longer fight.

"Nariel-" Solarius whispered, anticipation seeping from his voice.

"Time to change." Grunted Molikor, rolling over and sitting up.

Nariel's eyes shot open, panic overtaking her. She hesitated for a second as her mouth opened slightly in surprise, a soft gasp escaping her lips as she gazed desperately into the Paladin's eyes, frozen with desire before she quickly withdrew, turning away. He saw something beneath them; whether it was fear of what she had almost done, or despair at the lost opportunity he did not know.

"I'll take next watch." The Orc said as he sluggishly crawled to his feet, oblivious to what he had disturbed. "You two get some sleep."

Nariel crawled onto her makeshift bed and closed her eyes, but her racing mind told her that sleep would not come. She tried everything to push the encounter out of her head, but she could do nothing except lay there, replaying it over and over, dread filling her.

_Oh no._ She thought, as she heard Solarius quietly move to the opposite side of the fire.

_What have I done? _He thought, silently falling onto his bedroll.


	15. Memories

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 14_

Nariel had risen later than usual the next morning, though still before anyone else other than Rantuk, who had taken over the watch from Molikor at some point. The Tauren was sitting pensively on the rock that had become the default spot for whoever was standing watch, lost deeply in thought. All through the previous night the thought of her actions had tormented her: she had finally lost control.

_I almost kissed him. _She thought, her face turning red.

_He was trying to comfort me and I took advantage of him._

A thousand different things ran through her mind as she heard Solarius begin to shift, sitting up with a yawn. Frantically she turned to Rantuk, looking for a way to avoid confrontation.

"Nothing exciting then?" she asked, the words coming out louder than she intended as she limped over to sit next to him.

"Hm?" came the deep voice of Rantuk as he turned to see who had spoken.

"Oh. No. Boring night." He said simply, adding "Though that's probably a good thing."

_Boring night indeed._ She thought to herself.

"Yes, I suppose so. I think I've had plenty of excitement for quite a while." She said instead, the deeper meaning known only to herself.

"You've still got another shoulder to give." Said Molikor, who had awoken and joined them with a smirk.

"And I'd like to keep it that way." She replied, giving him a playful glare.

Rantuk gave a low deep rumble as they sparred, his laugh echoing through the cave. It was an infectious sound that instantly lightened the mood for everyone around, and Nariel began to feel more at ease. Solarius had moved to the other side of their makeshift camp, busying himself with organizing his gear. He stayed there until it was time to depart shortly afterwards, and when the group got under way Nariel was relieved to find him quickly engaged in quiet conversation with Molikor ahead of her.

For the remainder of their trip through the Ghostlands they avoided each other completely; Nariel spoke to Rantuk or Molikor, but avoided group discussions while Solarius did the same. She wasn't mad at him over the other elf anymore; his apology had helped her finally push it from her mind. It was just that she didn't want him to see her face; to see the longing that still crept up, even as dread forced it back down.

It wasn't until they had entered the Eversong Woods that Nariel next spoke to Solarius. For the entire day prior they had avoided so much as looking at each other, but the morning after they broke camp in the quiet forest Solarius approached her, Molikor with him. Nariel sat quietly, watching Frostbite chase a butterfly that had strayed too near, when a loud grunt from beside her signaled the Orc clearing his throat.

"We're heading out." Said Molikor. "Silvermoon is only a day's journey away."

Nariel nodded. "Let's get a move on then." She said.

Molikor paused, glancing to Solarius who took a slight step forward. "Actually, I'm not going." He said.

"What?" Nariel asked, shocked.

"The road is fairly safe from here, and you will have no more trouble." He said, adding. "I need to do something. I don't know when I'll get the chance again."

"What is it?" Nariel asked.

"I'm going to Fairbreeze Village." He replied. "I haven't been back since I left."

"I'm not leaving for good." He added quickly, sensing her uncertainty. "I'll rejoin you in Silvermoon afterwards."

Nariel paused for a moment, thinking over his words. Fairbreeze Village…where it had all begun.

"I'm coming with you." She said suddenly, making up her mind.

"What?" Solarius and Molikor asked at the same time.

"As you said, the road is safe." She argued. "They won't need me."

Solarius glanced at Molikor, who gave a slight shrug.

"Are you sure?" Solarius asked cautiously.

"Yes." She nodded resolutely.

Solarius paused for a moment, thinking. Finally he gave a slow nod. "Very well then. Are you ready?" He asked, climbing atop his charger.

Nariel climbed atop her wolf before nodding. "Whenever you are."

"We will regroup with you in a few days." Solarius said to Molikor before turning to Nariel and giving her a small smile, and then nudging his charger forward.

The journey was quiet at first, neither saying much. They rode at a leisurely pace, and Nariel had time to gaze around at the forest, memories of her homeland streaming back to her. She had forgotten the smell of the trees, or the way the leaves twisted down through the air as they fell, as if caught in an invisible cyclone. It was Solarius who first broke the ice, stating much of what she was thinking.

"Quel'thalas is just how I recalled it." He said.

"Home…" She added quietly.

"Yes." He agreed. "I am glad to have left. I met friends, had many adventures, and sated my desire for excitement." He said. "But for all the world has to offer, this place is still home."

"More so for you than me." Nariel said.

"Oh?" Solarius asked.

"Yes." She replied. "I left very little behind, and almost nothing that I wish to have back." She said before adding "Except perhaps some of the memories."

Solarius said nothing but gave a sad smile.

"Still…" She said, pausing. "I suppose you are right. For better or worse, this is home."

Solarius nodded quietly before clearing his throat. "Nariel…" He said.

She turned her head quickly, staring off through the trees, aware of the source of his sudden uneasiness.

"The other night." He said finally, after a pause.

"I was not myself." She interjected quickly. "I fear the injury had a greater effect than I realized."

Solarius stared ahead, his expression confusing to her. "I-" he began, but she quickly cut him off.

"It won't happen again." She said firmly. "Let's just forget about it."

Solarius watched her for a moment before quietly nodding.

"Ok." He said simply. There was a hint of something in his voice but she could not place it; sadness perhaps?

_I'm sorry Solarius._ She thought to herself.

Truthfully she had been herself. She had known exactly what she wanted that night, and she had been unable to stop herself from trying to take it. She just hoped he would not think less of her for it.

_If only I could make you understand._ Solarius said to himself quietly.

He had felt something that night when she inched closer towards him and for the first time her recognized the feeling for what it was. His heart was now clear; Nariel was not just a friend to him. _But I suppose that is what I am to her._ He thought sadly, noting her desire to move on.

The next day the pair arrived at their destination. At first it was just the tip of a rooftop cresting the top of a hill as they rode. Then came the outline of a house slipping through the trees. Nariel saw a sign, then a fence. As each new part of the village came into view, her heart raced faster and faster. Beside her Solarius increased his pace slightly, and she quickly matched him, until the pair were moving at a gallop towards the town.

Then she saw it. _The inn._ Her racing heart suddenly stopped. Here was the place she hated, where everything old had ceased to be and everything new had come to be, crammed painfully into the gaping hole left in her heart as if it could somehow make her whole again. This was the one spot she would scrub from the world and erase from history if she could do such a thing. She had left so much here so long ago.

As they arrived she slipped off of her wolf but stood wordlessly in place. Beside her, Solarius dismounted as well. She felt a comforting hand placed on her shoulder as he came to stand with her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

Slowly she nodded. She needed to be here. After what seemed like an eternity she took her first step, then another. With each step towards the inn, Solarius kept pace never leaving her side. Finally they were upon the threshold. She stopped, gazing at the doorway as if it were a portal to hell itself,

And then…she crossed it.

Solarius watched her intensely, seeing the recognition in her eyes and knowing that her mind was replaying that terrible day all over again. He understood why she wanted to be here; she needed closure. She needed to see that the world had not ended after all that day, and that the parts of her that she left behind no longer weighted her down. Still, he wished he could make it easier for her. He would have gladly shared some of the burden if he could. The building was deserted – where the innkeeper was they did not know, or care. Quietly she moved to the bar. She ran her fingers over it where she had placed the letter.

"This is the last place I stood while I was happy." She whispered, more to herself than him.

Solarius said nothing as she turned. Just as she had done that day, Nariel scanned the room – all except for one spot. She didn't want to look there yet. She saw each chair and table, just as it had been, but without the people. The rays of sunlight crept in through the windows just as they had five years ago. She imagined the people who had been there, the barkeeper, the sights, and smells. Everything about that day came back to her as perfectly as if it were now.

Finally she turned. Slowly her eyes fell upon the small booth in the corner. Silently she walked over, looking at the table. She pictured him just as he had been, with the girl in his lap.

"This is where…" She said, her voice choking up slightly.

Solarius put a comforting hand on her shoulder again. "It's ok." He said simply.

Without warning she burst. Tears fell uncontrollably as five years' worth of pain and loss caught up to her. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and she did not resist, burying her face in his chest. There they stayed, for how long neither knew. Time did not matter, except that he would give as much of it as she needed, but when she finally pulled away from him, he saw that she was changed.

He could see it in the way she looked at the place where she had lost everything. Her expression was no longer one of dread. She no longer scanned the room fearful of the painful memories that each corner held. Now she looked around defiantly, as if to challenge fate itself. This place was hell for her - it had been for five long, torturous years, but she was here willingly and she no longer feared it. The faintest hint of a smile cracked upon her lips.

Somehow…she had survived. Her old life had been torn unwillingly from her hands, stripped bare for her to see how pitiful it truly was, and then shattered upon the ground, but somehow she had lived on. It had come back to torment her relentlessly and somehow she had endured. It wasn't happy, or glamorous, or easy. It was just…Nariel.

"I think…" she said quietly "I think I'm going to be ok." She finished, a surprised sigh escaping as her smile grew slightly larger.

He pulled her into another hug, squeezing her tightly.

"You will be." He said. "I know it."

* * *

"So this is where you grew up?" Nariel asked as the pair approached the old rundown house on the edge of the village.

They had lingered a moment longer at the inn, but eventually Nariel had felt that there was nothing more she needed to do there, so now they were making their way across the Village, to where Solarius had wished to come.

"Yes." He replied. "Not exactly a palace, but it kept the rain out."

Nariel shrugged. "A roof is a roof." She said.

Solarius approached the house, stepping over the cracked wooden door that had fallen off its hinges and into the small common room.

"I suppose he could have cleaned the place up a little bit." He said sarcastically.

"He?" Nariel asked.

"Mhm." Mumbled Solarius, lost in surveying the ruins. "My Father." He added, noticing Nariel's confused look. "He raised me after my Mother died when I was a child." Solarius said.

"Oh." Nariel said. "I'm sorry."

Solarius gave a soft smile. "Such is fate I suppose." He said with a wave. "I miss her but we cannot undo what has been done."

Nariel nodded; she understood his meaning more than most.

"I remember this." Solarius said happily as he knelt down, sweeping the dust off of a long thin piece of wood. "My first wand!" He exclaimed, waving it around with a wild grin.

"Wand?" Nariel asked. "No wonder you're a lousy Paladin." She joked.

Solarius laughed and tossed it aside. "My Father was determined to turn me into a mage." He said. "I must have had to blow up twenty houses worth of furniture before he finally relented."

Nariel grinned. "Personally I think you would look ridiculous in a dress." She said.

"My thoughts exactly." He replied. "Plus I was never any good at it."

"If you could destroy that much furniture to make a point…" She said.

"Most of it was by accident." He replied with a dismissive wave before stepping across the room.

"Aha! Here you are." He said, picking up a large wooden sword. "My first training weapon."

Nariel watched him turn it over in his hands, an amused smile on her lips.

"This is where I used to sit every night as we ate." Solarius said, picking up a small chair near the cracked table that had tipped over backwards.

"On more than one occasion I found myself sitting here getting lectured about the dangers of whatever I had done that day as well." He added, scanning the room.

He glanced around as she followed him quietly through a side doorway. "My old room." He said simply, sitting down on the edge of a small bed.

"What's this?" Nariel asked, her tone changing as she saw a small red envelope that had at one time been placed upon the pillow, but had slipped off the side.

"Eh?" asked Solarius, looking over to her.

"It's addressed to you…" She said quietly, handing it to him.

Solarius picked up the letter, carefully opening it and pulling out its contents. Nariel sat down next to him and leaned in to read it as well.

_My son,_

_Life has been quiet since you left. I suppose that was part of the goal; we both know that no good could have come from you remaining here, but I have still missed you these many years. If these words find you then my prayers have been answered and you have returned home safely. If they find you through this letter rather than my own voice then I fear that your adventures abroad may have kept me from seeing you one last time, for it is with a heavy heart that I write of my impending death. I know such topics are not pleasant, and if I had the power to spare you from the heartache I would, but I feel you have a right to know of my fate. _

_An old wound has caught up to me, suffered when the cursed Scourge invaded our beloved Quel'thalas. My time is drawing to an end, but please know that I am happily surrounded by memories of you and your Mother, and relics of a lifetime of accomplishment. With the knowledge that my only son is out in the world, living the life he dreamed of, I can truthfully say that a father could not wish for a more perfect end._

_No doubt by now you are an accomplished traveler. In my younger days I had many adventures of my own. If you can take one more lesson from your old man, I have a final piece of advice I wish to entrust you with. It served me well and helped me lead a lifetime of happiness with your Mother - my greatest adventure. _

_Always keep those you love nearby, and never miss an opportunity you may later regret. For the cost of not chasing our dreams is far greater than the pain we may feel when we fall short of them._

_I wish that I had more to give you, but you know that we were never a wealthy family. I pray that my love, and my enclosed gift to you are enough._

_With love,  
Dath'rek_

As Solarius finished reading the letter he turned it over, finding a small picture behind it. In the frame was a man with long flowing hair and a radiant grin – "My father." Solarius said with a smile – and at his side was a beautiful woman with blond hair reaching down behind her back – "My mother." He added.

"They look wonderful." Nariel said quietly.

"I wish I had returned sooner." Solarius said bitterly, pausing before continuing with a sigh "I would have liked to see him again, but somehow I knew that I would be too late."

Nariel stepped towards him. This time it was her turn to embrace him in a tight hug. She knew how he felt, and knowing that he was sad brought on strange feelings. She wanted to help him. She would have given anything in the world to take away his pain, but she knew that the only thing she could do was be there, as he had for her so many times before. As Solarius stood there, locked in her embrace, his thoughts drifted to what his father had said in the letter.

_No doubt by now you are an accomplished traveler._

He had never earned fame, wealth, or power, but as he thought about what he had done he couldn't help but feel his Father was correct. He had Molikor, Nariel, and even Frostbite. With the Orc he had engaged in some of his wildest adventures, and with the elf he had discovered another part of life that he had never before considered. His friends were his power, their experiences his wealth.

_Yes Father. _He thought, a smile breaking out. _I wouldn't change things for the world._


	16. Home

**A/N:**

Hey all! Thanks again for all the reviews. I've decided to rewrite the last couple chapters so there may be a small delay before the next ones are up. Sorry!

_Kintaraheart_: It's definitely a popular pet name. I had originally planned to go with something else, but this one just seemed to fit a bit better.

_ForGG:_ She's been pretty confused as it is; I think she just had a hard time coming to terms with her own feelings and didn't handle it too well. :)

* * *

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 15_

Nariel and Solarius had stayed the night at his old home where they had spent the evening hours going through the chests and drawers of the furniture there. Each box seemed to hold another artifact from his past. Every item had a story - some humorous, others serious - but it had been oddly refreshing to both of them. In one night, the uneasiness of their encounter in the Ghostlands was forgotten, lost in the relics of years of her friend's history.

When Solarius had finally passed out, draped unceremoniously over a broken couch, Nariel had remained awake for a little while longer thinking over her own story. The inn had been painful to visit, but she had known it was something she needed to do for a long time, and he had been there with her. Solarius had always been there with her. Since the very first time they met, he had saved her life, comforted her, lifted her up when she was sad, and more. Her grateful eyes drifted to his quietly sleeping form. She knew now she had made the right choice in staying.

Visiting Fairbreeze had been one of the last in a long line of steps for her. The memories still hurt, but compared to what she had felt before meeting the pair, she was alive again. She wondered what might happen if she actually saw Sath'rovok. A few months ago perhaps she could have guessed with accuracy - lots of pain - but now, she just felt relieved.

She could think about what had happened, and rationalize it. She could consider everything she had been through and comprehend the pain and the loss and why she had felt that way. She never doubted that it had been unavoidable – Sath'rovok was everything to her, and when he had been torn away it had left a raw gaping hole. The pain had been inescapable, but now it was as if she were at the end of a marathon. She was exhausted and her emotional energy was depleted, but she was relieved that it was over.

She also knew that she still didn't want to see him. For all that she had come to terms with about her own experience, he had still caused it. He had still betrayed her; that she could think about now it without crumbling did not excuse that.

Nariel shook her head.

_No matter._ She thought, glancing at Solarius with a smile. _As long as I have my friends, I'll be ok._

As she curled up on one of the broken beds, she watched the stars through a small gap in the ceiling. Nariel had originally been unsure about returning to Silvermoon. She had considered waiting here until her friends' business was complete and then meeting them outside the city when they were ready to leave, but as a small violet wisp of light trailed carelessly across the sky, she smiled.

Maybe she would go back after all.

* * *

"You can't be serious?!" Nariel exclaimed.

"I am, absolutely." Solarius said. "I've only been to Silvermoon once before in my life." He repeated as they stood before the gates.

"How?" She asked, incredulous. "You lived a day and a half away!"

"Yes well, that's about a day and a half farther than I was willing to travel while I was here." Solarius said.

Nariel only shook her head as they nudged their mounts forward.

"Welcome to Silvermoon then." She said as they passed through the gate, the sun just beginning to set. "My home." She added.

Solarius laughed as he took in the sight of a city of elves moving to and fro, lost in the task of trying to finish their daily errands before the evening drew to a close.

"How are we supposed to find Molikor in all this?" He asked.

"I presume he'll be at the inn." She said. "And probably the one with the least elves."

Solarius grinned. "Just like him to ignore our fine culture." He said.

As the pair made their way through the streets, it wasn't long before Nariel's hunch was proven correct. They turned down a side alleyway into a dark corner of Silvermoon known as Murder Row, and there sleeping quietly in the stables was Frostbite. Nariel nudged Solarius and pointed to the tiger before slipping off her mount and stepping inside of the inn.

"About time!" Came a gruff voice.

"Did you miss us that bad?" Nariel asked with a smile.

"How do you elves survive here?!" Molikor replied, ignoring her. "All pretty buildings and fancy magic." He said, throwing up his arms in frustration. "If I don't get real alcohol and someone to argue with soon I'm going to lose my mind!"

"Silvermoon wine is the finest around." Solarius teased, making his way to the bar.

"I mean it!" Molikor called out, turning to yell after him. "I can feel the demon's curse returning!" he threatened.

"Yes, I'm sure you would go absolutely feral." Said Nariel sarcastically as Solarius returned, placing a mug before the Orc who glanced at it momentarily before _inhaling _it. When he had finished the drink he slammed the mug down, letting out a loud belch before grinning widely.

"Ha!" he cried out as his breath returned. "You're a lifesaver."

"Lesson one: Don't insult the bar if you want to get your drinks." Solarius replied simply, patting him on the shoulder.

Nariel glanced outside, noticing that night had fallen. She turned back to her friends, lost in thought.

"I'm going out." She said finally, to the surprise of her companions.

"Everything ok?" Solarius asked, noticing her expression.

"Yes." She nodded. "Just…something I want to see." She added, slipping away from the bar and out the door. In her excitement she didn't notice the quiet gasp from the person she passed on the way out, or the footsteps that turned hastily to follow shortly behind her.

She made her way through the streets, recalling the map of Silvermoon she had formed in her head years ago. In time she arrived at her destination. Nimbly she hopped from box to box, and before long she found herself back up on the roof of the Bazaar for the first time in ages.

_The one part of Silvermoon I did miss _she thought to herself with a smile, stepping up to the edge. It was just as she remembered it. The streams were just as alive, the colors just as vibrant and the movements just as chaotic. It was all there, so perfectly similar that for one brief moment she felt like she had stepped back in time to that night. Before all the pain. Before she knew she had lost him. The only thing that would make it more complete was-

"Nari…" Came the quiet voice of the footsteps that had followed her from the bar.

Her breath froze instantly as she gave a surprised gasp. She knew that voice; it was soft, smooth, and inviting. That voice was the one she had grown up with. The one she had known every day until five years ago, and every night as she slept since then. It was a voice she had hoped never to hear again.

Slowly she turned. She had run through this a million times before, never desiring for it to become a reality. She had imagined what she would think, what she would do…how she would remember her vow. But as her eyes landed on him and she stood there, cornered where he had held her in his arms so long ago, the final promise she had made to herself - the only one she still clung hopelessly to - shattered as the man she had vowed never to speak to again heard her painfully submit to fate, her voice just a whisper.

"Sath…" She said.


	17. Cornered

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 16_

"Nari…" Sath'rovok repeated quietly, taking a step towards her.

"Stay back!" She said, her voice shaky.

"I just want to talk." Sath'rovok offered.

"Stay away from me…please." Nariel repeated, pleading rather than demanding. She had come so far, healed so much. She couldn't survive having it all undone.

Ignoring her plea, Sath'rovok took another step forward. Nariel took a step backwards but had nowhere to go – she was at the ledge. Sath'rovok took yet another step, his hand rising as he closed in.

"Nari please, I jus-" He started.

But before he could finish a loud growl sounded out and a large snarling white tiger materialized in front of Nariel, ears laid back fully and crouched down low. Sath'rovok gasped and took a quick step backwards, and then another as Frostbite began to stalk towards him, her snarl growing more fierce with each step. But just as the cat crouched again, ready to pounce, Nariel spoke.

"Wait." She said quietly.

The cat's ears perked up slightly at the rogue's voice and it paused, frozen a moment away from delivering retribution to the one that threatened her friend.

_I am no longer yours. _Nariel told herself.

Slowly she took a careful step away from the ledge, and then another.

_I am no longer afraid of you. _She thought taking another step towards Sath'rovok.

Each step forward she felt more in control. She fought the pain that had swelled up at his appearance, forcing it away; mentally beating it into submission.

_You will not hurt me anymore._ She commanded of her memories.

She stepped up to Frostbite, placing a calming hand on the cat's head and scratching her ear gently.

"Why are you here?" She asked, her voice firm. "How did you find me?"

"Just luck, I promise." He said, holding up his hands. "I saw you at the inn and followed you here."

"Please" he continued "if ever our friendship meant anything, give me a chance to speak to you." He said. "Just for one night, and then I promise I will never bother you again.

"Why?" Nariel asked, her anger rising. "Why should I listen to anything you have to say? Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Perhaps you shouldn't." Sath'rovok admitted sadly, pausing for a moment before adding "I can't pretend like I deserve to talk to you, much less see your face"

Nariel glared at him but gave no reply. She didn't know what to say. She had held on to so many questions for so long, and now that she finally had the chance to answer them her mind was clouded with hatred. She stood in silence, her eyes fixated on his, not searching but instead trying to bore through to his soul with pure anger. His expression changed from hopeful to uncomfortable, and then resigned to her denial. Just as he started to turn away she spoke.

"Why did you do it?" She asked quietly.

The words slipped from her lips before she could pull them back, her desperate desire for the answer to that agonizing question overwhelming her anger.

He stared at the ground for a long moment before looking up at her. "My answer may only bring you more pain." He said.

"I-" she started before pausing, unsure of herself "-…I have to know." She finished.

He turned slowly and stood lost in thought for a moment before answering her.

"Because I was a fool." He said simply. "I've turned that very question over a million times until I know in my heart that I am."

"You were – you are – an amazing person." Sath'rovok continued. "But I was being sent off to more and more exciting things with every assignment." He said, adding "I was off in the Ghostlands, and then the Plaguelands, and then even on to Silverpine Forest fighting the undead."

"You…" he whispered, hesitating.

"…were delivering letters in Silvermoon." Nariel said sadly, finishing the thought for him.

"For the first time ever we were…different." Sath'rovok said. "Since we first met we had always been the same. Always together." He said. "And then all of a sudden…we weren't."

"Suddenly it felt wrong." Sath'rovok said quietly, shaking his head. "You felt wrong."

"The fool in me convinced my better senses that you were not…worthy…of my attention." He finished, his voice whispering the last part, ashamed of its truthfulness.

He was right. His words did hurt. Partly because they reopened old wounds she had hoped were healed, but mostly because in the end she knew it was true. They had grown apart. She hadn't been worthy. She stroked Frostbite's neck, lost in thought before she continued.

"Why didn't you just tell me Sath?" She asked sadly.

He gave a sad sigh. "Ironically, because I had hoped not to hurt you." He said.

"I was confused. My feelings about you as a lover changed almost daily, but you were still my friend." He said, adding "I loved you but I wanted to be free of you. I thought I could have the best of both, but I only ended up destroying everything."

Nariel was shocked to hear him admit it.

_He had felt nothing that day…I saw it._ She thought, her mind racing. Had she misread his eyes? She shook her head, pushing the question from her head. His admission of guilt didn't change reality.

"It seems you were right." She said. "I wasn't worthy."

"You've moved on; excelled even. You've become Captain." She continued. "Im…" she paused, thinking over what she had so desperately wanted to be on that day so long ago "…just a rogue." She finished bitterly.

Sath'rovok shook his head, taking a few careful steps towards her. When Frostbite didn't object, he stepped forward, for the first time in years standing within reach of her.

"You've never been just a rogue." He said. "You're Nari." He whispered. "My Nari…" he added quietly.

Nariel raised her head, looking at him with confused eyes. "What?" she asked.

"My blindness cost me everything that day." Sath'rovok said. "And what's more, I took everything from you as well." He added. "If I had just been honest…I might have had a chance to keep my friend, even if I lost my love forever." He said. "Perhaps later when I began to feel the regret that has plagued me…"

Sath'rovok shook his head, as if to dismiss an impossible thought, his voice suddenly determined. "You've always been my Nari." He repeated quietly. "My first and closest friend. The person with whom I most wanted to share my success, the person I wanted to run away with when the world seemed so…wrong."

Nariel stood silently, her mind blank as it absorbed his words.

"I'm sorry." He said again. "I would give anything to change what happened - to change what I did. I was blind at the time but it has become my biggest regret." Sath'rovok said sadly, before adding "I hope one day you can forgive me."

_I'm sorry._

For years she had wanted to hear him say those words. She had fooled herself into thinking that with those two simple words her burden would be lifted and all the pain would disappear but now as she stood there, the moment she had so desperately awaited for so long having finally arrived…she felt nothing. Maybe she had finally healed. Maybe she was just numb. She didn't know, and she didn't care. His apology was something but it didn't let her move on. There was something else she had to do.

Nariel stared off into the distance, her eyes dry; she had no more tears to give. Everything had come to this. Solarius had started it all with the simple act of sitting next to her that day in Iron Summit. He was her armor, Frostbite her sword, protecting her when she needed it the most so long ago. She had healed, slowly at first. But day by day the pain grew less.

First there was one night without dreams of Sath'rovok. Then there were two. Then before long she could sleep well almost every night. Her friends had dragged her – against her will at first – out of despair day by day until finally she was able to revisit that horrible spot, to let go of that part, but now there was one final obstacle before she knew that the chapter of her life she had opened five years ago would truly come to merciful end. Slowly she looked up at him. She searched his eyes, and saw that his every word had been genuine. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"I forgive you." She whispered.

"What?" Sath'rovok asked as he stood before her stunned, unsure he had heard her correctly.

"It's done." Nariel said quietly. "We can't change that. But…I forgive you."

Sath'rovok stared blankly at her for a moment, processing her words.

"Just like that?" he asked, preparing himself as if she were toying with him.

Nariel gave a slight laugh.

"Just like that." She answered.

There were no feelings of uncertainty. Perhaps she did it for herself more than him, but she never doubted it because she knew that forgiveness meant that finally she could move on.

"Thank you." He said gratefully, an uneven laugh escaping as he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry." He repeated again quietly.

Nariel stood there for a moment until she cautiously returned his embrace. It felt…right. She let out the deep breath she did not realize she had been holding.

_It's over._ She thought as their hug broke, a smile forming on her lips.

_It's finally over._

She felt as if the gears of a massive vault began turning, slowly unraveling around her. Her heart, her trust, her feelings…it was all still there, and it was all free now, hers to give and take as she pleased with no concern for the dangers of truly living. Silently, as she had years ago she collected everything that had become her life, packing it away to make space for what the world would bring now. But this time there were no promises to hide from those who wished her well. There was no feeling of regret or loss for the page she was now turning. Just hope and excitement, and a great sense of freedom.

"What now?" she asked quietly, turning and walking to the edge of the roof.

Sath'rovok stepped up next to her, watching the streams travel across the city.

"I want things to go back to the way they were." He said cautiously, wondering if he could be so lucky in one night.

Nariel shook her head as she turned to look at him. "I can't just come back to you Sath." She said firmly. "Not after all of this."

"I know." He said quickly, trying to reassure her.

"Perhaps fate will lead us there again one day, but for now I only want to be friends again. I don't want you to hide your face from me." He continued, adding "I don't want Silvermoon to feel so…empty."

She thought silently about his offer for a moment.

Could it really work? Earlier that same day she had hated him. The very sight of him when he had appeared on the rooftop had frozen her in fear. Could all of that really be swept away like it was nothing? She turned to him, scanning him with her eyes. He smelled just like he used to. His heart beat sounded just the same as it used to, racing when he was nervous. He had even wrapped his arms around her in that same comforting way he always had back then. She thought over their embrace, over her whole twisted story and finally, free of the burden that had tormented her for five long years, she nodded to him.

"Ok." She said. "Let's start over. As friends."

Slowly, as if realizing he had won the greatest prize in the world, Sath'rovok returned her smile with the large childish grin she hadn't seen in years. She closed her eyes and let reality seep into her heart and soul. It all felt so right, for the first time she could remember. She was so glad to have come back with Solarius. One thought rang out through her mind, like a great bell tolling. With a comforting finality it gently sealed the rest of her pain, the hurtful memories, and the regret far away from her heart where they could no longer hurt her:

_I'm finally home._


	18. Solarius

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 17_

When the pair had descended from the roof – Sath'rovok having fallen flat on his face, _just like old times_ Nariel thought to herself – they shared one final hug before parting, agreeing to meet again before Nariel departed Silvermoon. It was as if she had never left. They were Nari and Sath again; friends, not lovers, but it was perfect to her. Frostbite walked causally at Nariel's side, her steps noticeably lighter. Quietly she strolled along the streets. Her mind was blank; there was nothing more to think about Sath'rovok. She was just enjoying happiness for the first time in years. True happiness. Not what she had felt when she knew she would be ok so long as she could avoid Sath'rovok, but rather the pure pleasure that came from the thought that nothing in her life was uncertain anymore.

Well, almost nothing…

"Nariel!" came the voice of the only other thing she was unsure about. "There you are!"

"Solarius?" She asked, surprised as he caught up to her.

"I was worried sick about you." He said, speaking quickly. "I had a terrible feeling that something had happened, and so I tried to get Frostbite to help me find you." He said, his words slipping together. "But she _ran off_" he yelled the last part, glaring angrily at the cat.

"It's ok Solarius." Nariel said with a laugh, trying to calm him.

"You're ok?" Solarius said, calming slightly.

"Yes." Nariel replied, pausing before adding "I just ran into an old friend."

"What?" he asked, confused.

Nariel took a deep breath and pulled him along as she began to walk again.

"I went to go visit a place I remembered from before I left," She said, taking a breath before adding "and Sath'rovok found me."

"What?!" yelled Solarius.

"He followed me." She continued before adding quickly "We spoke - agreed to move on."

"Move on?" Solarius asked, his voice uncertain.

Nariel nodded. "We talked about everything." She said, adding "He apologized, and asked me to forgive him."

"You talked, just like that?" Solarius asked.

"Well, to be fair he sort of cornered me." Nariel joked. "Otherwise I'm sure I would have run, but…I'm glad he did."

"Did you forgive him?" Solarius asked.

"Surprisingly…yes." She replied slowly.

Solarius walked alongside her, lost in thought.

"You are ok with this?" He asked.

"Yes." Nariel reassured him. "It's strange, but I feel happy."

Solarius watched her speak, as if testing her sincerity. Deciding she was not hiding anything, he smiled.

"That's wonderful Nariel." He said with a laugh. "I'm happy for you."

Out of the blue Nariel turned to him and wrapped herself around him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you Solarius." She whispered, her voice sincere.

"W-what?" He asked in surprise.

"You've done so much for me." She said quietly.

He paused, registering her words before smiling and circling his arms around her.

"It's what friends are for." He said simply. At his response she only squeezed him tighter.

As Solarius looked down at her, arms wrapped around him, the words of his father once again echoed in his mind. _The cost of not chasing our dreams is far greater than the pain we may feel when we fall short of them._

"Nariel…" He said slowly, his heart beginning to beat faster.

"Yes?" She asked, looking up, her arms still around him. He stared down into her eyes, wondering what to say.

"I don't…" he started, pausing as his voice fell to a whisper. "I don't want to miss another opportunity."

"What?" She asked, confused.

Solarius felt the world around him dissolve as he watched her face.

"That night, in the Ghostlands." He whispered, his voice suddenly more determined than she had ever heard it before.

"I thought we were-" She started, but before she could continue he cut her off.

"What if we had not been interrupted?" He asked. "What if you had kissed me?"

"I…" She started, quickly losing herself in an attempt to rationalize her feelings.

"I know you don't-" She said, her words coming out rapidly.

But her attempt at explanation was cut off as Solarius stepped forward, taking her lips in an instant. Nariel gave a surprised gasp before melting against him, closing her eyes and losing herself in the kiss. Her mind swirled.

_By the light his lips taste so sweet._ She thought, unable to comprehend anything else.

Her heart was suddenly racing as her hands pulled him closer. She held on tightly, suddenly not ever wanting to let go. Could the world truly be so perfect? Could fate finally be so kind after all it had done to her? When he finally pulled back she lingered for a moment, her eyes creeping open to stare into his, her mouth frozen where he had left it and her breaths deep and uneven.

It was all she could do to finally whisper his name: "Solarius…"

"Please tell me you feel the same…" He begged, his voice trailing off at the end.

She stood still looking up into his eyes, searching them but unsure what she wanted to find. Solarius was…_worried _She realized, shocked. He looked so vulnerable all the sudden.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you." He admitted as his voice became less confident. "I didn't know why at first but now I've never been more certain of anything in my life."

Nariel let her head fall, leaning against his chest and closing her eyes as a smile overtook her.

_Is this really happening?_ She asked herself.

If it was a dream she never wanted to wake up.

Solarius voice trailed off as she said nothing. He began to grow afraid that he had made the biggest mistake of his life when finally she spoke.

"I fought it for so long" she said quietly as her hands trailed down his side "but I cannot deny it anymore."

"Wha-" he asked.

Without warning she lifted her head and pressed against him again, her turn to steal a kiss. She took everything she had so desperately wanted, pouring all of her desire into her actions as she felt his hands slip down to take her own. They stayed there for what felt like an eternity, fingers laced together and locked in the perfect kiss that neither ever wanted to lose. To Nariel even that was not long enough, and as he pulled away her lips desperately inched forward slightly, chasing after him and trying to reclaim what they had given up.

Finally, after conceding the loss of the kiss she spoke.

"Promise that you won't ever hurt me." She said, looking into his eyes.

"I promise." He replied.

Her smile grew even larger as she leaned her head against his chest once again. Finally she heard it. The sound that might have answered her questions so long ago if she had only been listening. Solarius' heartbeat was racing in perfect time with hers. Nothing in the world could have so thoroughly convinced her that life was going to be ok now. Her past was behind her, her friends were there, and now she had won the greatest prize she could have dreamt of.

"I love you." She said finally, admitting what she had tried to hide for so long.

"I love you too." He replied, squeezing her tight.

And despite what she had been through, despite all the twists and turns she had taken, all the pain she had felt, Nariel couldn't help but decide then and there that life was perfect.


	19. The End

**Twisted Fate  
**_Chapter 18_

Nariel had not wanted the night to end, but eventually her body had caught up with her. It had been the best sleep she had ever had. Her dreams had been a continuation of the euphoria she had felt the night prior, and when she awoke she did so with the knowledge that he was finally hers, and she was his. Nothing could have been better. Downstairs she saw him sitting with Molikor at a small table in the corner. When she appeared Solarius burst into a large grin and the Orc turned to see what made his friend so joyous.

"Mornin'" Molikor grunted curiously as she approached.

Nariel said nothing but walked directly to Solarius, wrapped her arms around him, and planted a telling kiss directly on his cheek.

Molikor sat in shock as his jaw dropped at the sight.

"I'm sorry to say you'll have to share now." Solarius said to his friend.

"Thief." was all the Orc could say, looking to Nariel in disbelief.

The rogue nodded eagerly in reply, a wide grin spreading across her face.

Molikor sat for another moment watching the pair before a grin of his own broke out.

"Well then, let the negotiations begin." He said, adding "I want him two weeks out of every month for hunting."

"Not a chance." Nariel said as Solarius smirked.

"Every night for drinking then." The Orc said.

"Nights are especially out of the question." She countered with a wicked grin, as Solarius swallowed his bread whole.

"Can I still argue with him at least?" Molikor asked with a depressed sigh.

Nariel paused dramatically, pretending to think on it for a moment before nodding. "I suppose."

"Deal." Molikor said.

"Deal." She repeated.

"And what do I get out of all this?" Solarius asked.

Nariel turned to him, leaning over to plant another kiss on his cheek before whispering something quietly in his ear. Molikor couldn't hear what it was, but the smile that spread across the Paladin's face told him all he needed to know.

_Elves…_He thought, shaking his head.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Solarius asked as they walked.

"You'll see when we get there." Nariel replied.

She had stolen him away shortly after Molikor had spied an Orc female sitting casually at the bar. He would be occupied they thought, so Nariel had decided go for a walk with Solarius. There was one more thing she wanted to do before they left Silvermoon; one more thing she felt like she _needed_ to do.

As they turned onto a large busy street the building came into sight. She had seen it before but never thought much of it; there was nothing extremely special about it really. They stepped inside the barracks, and she spotted what she was after immediately. The fact that her heart did not jump was only more confirmation, if she needed it, that a new era of happiness had indeed started for her. Slowly she approached, tapping him on the shoulder. As he turned in recognition, a smile broke out over his face.

"Nari!" He exclaimed happily.

"Solarius," she started, turning to her Paladin "meet Sath'rovok."

Sath'rovok's eyes drifted ever so briefly to her hand, grasping Solarius' own. His gaze drifted up to her, and then across to the Paladin before a smile broke out as he extended his hand, a genuine offer of friendship.

"It's good to meet the one who's watching over her." He said.

Solarius thought briefly for a moment before returning the friendly smile, grasping Sath'rovok's hand and shaking it.

"A friend of Nariel's is a friend of mine." He said.

And just like that the group broke out into conversation. Five years of stories had to be told. Five years' worth of bridges had to be rebuilt. It would take time perhaps but the first step was done; with one small glance Sath'rovok knew she was happy, and with one small introduction Solarius knew she was at peace. To each of them that was all they could ask for. To her, it was more than she had hoped for.

She had been ruined by a Paladin and she had been saved by a Paladin. Like the stories she had thought of atop the rooftops so long ago while watching the arcane streams twist across the city, fate had pulled her from a place of happiness and pushed her into the grips of despair, but as torturous as it had been at the time, it had only been part of the journey. She smiled as she watched the two Paladins talk, quickly becoming friends.

Now she had arrived.

_Home._

The End.

* * *

**A/N:**

That's it! I hope everyone enjoyed it. This has been one of the first stories I've ever written (and my first crack at romance), so I'm sure it could have been better but I had a lot of fun writing it, and reading the reviews so far (and those that I hope will keep coming in) has been a treat.

I also want to add that I was a bit anxious to get the ending out so I edited this final chapter a little quicker than I should have maybe; I'll reread it in a day or so with my head clear and hopefully catch any mistakes but in the meantime please overlook any you might find.

Thanks again all. It's been fun!


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